On Saturday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced during his daily COVID-19 press briefing that, with assistance from multiple sources, the state had acquired 1,000 new ventilators from China.
“New York has been shopping in China &#8230; we went to the Asia Society to help us navigate China, I asked the White House to help us navigate China, I spoke to the ambassador, and we got really good news today,” Cuomo said.
<blockquote>The Chinese government is going to facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators that will come into JFK today – and I want to thank Joe Tsai and Clara Tsai and Jack Ma from Alibaba &#8230; for their donation. That’s going to be very helpful, and I want to thank Ambassador Huang very much for his help in making all of this happen because this is a big deal, and it’s gonna make a significant difference for us.</blockquote>
The governor added that the state of Oregon will be providing New York with 140 ventilators.
Prior to mentioning the 1,000 ventilators, Cuomo criticized the fact that China manufactures many of our medical supplies.
“China is, remarkably, the repository for all of these orders,” Cuomo said. “Ventilators, PPE, it all goes back to China, which, long-term, we have to figure out why we wound up in this situation where we don’t have the manufacturing capacity in this country.”
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The governor also went through the daily numbers for the state.
The daily hospitalization numbers on Friday dropped to 1,095 from the previous day’s record high of 1,427. Despite this tick downward, the overall trend of hospitalizations is still moving upward.
“Total number of hospitalized is down a blip, but we believe that’s not statistically meaningful,” Cuomo stated.
The daily Intensive Care Unit (ICU) admissions hit a record high of 395 on Friday. The previous high of 374 was set on March 26 and tied on April 1. The overall trajectory of ICU admissions is upward.
The number of daily intubations also broke the record with 351 on Friday. The previous record was 313, and it was set on April 1. The trajectory for daily intubations is upward.
Discharges are also up, with 1,592 COVID-19 patients discharged from New York hospitals on Friday. This is a record high as well, and the trajectory is moving upward.
“This is interesting. Two-thirds of the people who have been hospitalized have been discharged,” the governor said. “That’s what we’ve been saying all along. Most people won’t be hospitalized; people who are hospitalized will come in, be treated, and leave &#8230; one third of that number has a serious condition which will require continued hospitalization.”
Governor Cuomo then spoke about the apex, when “the number of infections on a daily basis is at the high point.” He stated that although New York isn’t at the apex yet, it will likely be arriving sometime in the next four to eight days based on the models being examined.
The governor also showed a slide in which case percentage numbers were shown based on area. While New York City has been very slowly declining as a share of total cases in the state since approximately March 22, cases in Long Island have been increasing. As of Friday, New York City had 65% of COVID-19 cases in the state, Long Island had 22% (up from 17% on March 26), Westchester and Rockland had 7%, and upstate had 5%.
Cuomo also lauded the fact that 85,000 volunteers have stepped up to help New York in this time of crisis.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/18-5-of-nypd-out-sick-as-of-saturday-nearly-4-5-tested-positive-for-covid-19">18.5% Of NYPD Out ‘Sick’ As Of Saturday; Nearly 4.5% ‘Tested Positive’ For COVID-19</a>

Ventilator

New York To Receive 1,000 Ventilators From China As COVID-19 ‘Apex’ Quickly Approaches

Andrew Cuomo

China

Coronavirus

COVID-19

New York

New York City

On Friday, New York Gov. Andrew signed an executive order allowing the state to take ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE) from hospitals and redistribute them to other hospitals that need them.
Speaking at his daily press conference, Cuomo said that he will be employing the National Guard to help transport these ventilators and equipment from less-struggling parts of the state to COVID-19 hotspots like New York City.
&#8220;We do not have enough ventilators. Period. I am signing an Executive Order allowing the state to take ventilators and redistribute to hospitals in need,&#8221; he tweeted on Friday.
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We do not have enough ventilators. 
Period.
I am signing an Executive Order allowing the state to take ventilators and redistribute to hospitals in need.
The National Guard will be mobilized to move ventilators to where they are urgently required to save lives.
&mdash; Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1246095130991476749?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to be in a position where people are dying and we have several hundred ventilators in our own state, somewhere else,&#8221; Cuomo said on Friday, as reported by <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2020/04/03/cuomo-plans-to-use-national-guard-to-seize-ventilators-from-upstate-facilities-1271376">Politico</a>. “I apologize for the hardship to those institutions — ultimately there is no hardship, if you don&#8217;t get the ventilator back, I give you my personal word I will pay you for the ventilator — but I’m not going to let people die because we didn’t redeploy these ventilators.&#8221;
Cuomo told reporters that they should not use the word &#8220;seize&#8221; in reference to his order, adding that resources will shift as the COVID-19 wave moves throughout the state.
“Right now the numbers in upstate New York are lighter than the numbers in downstate New York but that is going to change,&#8221; Cuomo said. &#8220;You&#8217;re going to see that wave move through the state. &#8230; We&#8217;re going to shift resources all across the state to whatever place has that need at that time.&#8221;
As noted by <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/491009-cuomo-order-new-york-commandeer-ventilators-protective-gear">The Hill</a>, Cuomo&#8217;s announcement followed his Thursday statement when he admitted that the state will be running out of ventilators to care for sick patients in the next six days based on the needs in the hotspot areas. Certain hospitals in the state that have not been hit with a COVID-19 surge have an excess number of ventilators to help combat this.
&#8220;It&#8217;s not that we&#8217;re going to leave any health care facility without adequate equipment, but they don&#8217;t need excess equipment now,&#8221; he said.
As of this writing, the state of New York has an estimated number of 102,800 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 57,000 of which are in New York City alone. The state has seen 2,935 deaths with another 14,800 people hospitalized and 3,700 in intensive care. In the last 24 hours, the state has seen 562 deaths.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) grimly admitted on Friday that the city&#8217;s ventilator supply will diminish by Monday as officials predict the intensive care patients will swell to 5,000 people. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know after Sunday if we&#8217;re going to have what we need, and that&#8217;s just the ventilators,&#8221; he <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/490982-de-blasio-nyc-can-only-get-to-monday-or-tuesday-with-current-ventilators">told CNN&#8217;s John Berman</a>.
During his Friday press conference, Gov. Cuomo has also urged manufacturers in the state to step up on creating quality protective equipment. &#8220;It can&#8217;t be that complicated in this country and in this state to transition to make those supplies quickly,&#8221; he said.
Earlier this week, Cuomo said that New York will never be the same again after the pandemic.
&#8220;As a society, beyond just this immediate situation, we should start looking forward to understand how this experience is going to change us, or how it should change us because this is going to be transformative,&#8221; <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cuomo-on-covid-19-were-never-going-to-be-the-same-again-how-do-we-learn-from-this">he said</a>. &#8220;It is going to be transformative on a personal basis, on a social basis, on a systems basis.&#8221;

Following the arrival in New York City of the U.S. Naval

Andrew Cuomo Signs Executive Order, Employs National Guard To Redistribute Dwindling Ventilator Supply In New York

In an interview with the &#8220;<a href="https://radio.foxnews.com/podcast/fox-news-rundown/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Fox News Rundown</a>&#8221; podcast Thursday, former campaign manager and senior adviser to President Barack Obama, David Plouffe, said that, despite the coronavirus crisis, President Trump is going to turn out his voters &#8220;almost at a historical level&#8221; in November, while Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden&#8217;s inability to get much national attention during the crisis is putting him at a serious disadvantage.
&#8220;You look at the economic situation and say, &#8216;How can an incumbent win in that?&#8217; But, you know, no one&#8217;s blaming Trump for the damage,&#8221; Plouffe said, as reported by <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/david-plouffe-trump-biden-coronavirus">Fox News</a>.
&#8220;I think if you can lay his crisis response at his feet and connect that to the economy, I do think that&#8217;s some headwind he&#8217;s got to run into,&#8221; he said. But so far, he suggested, that&#8217;s not what&#8217;s taking place. Instead, the American people are looking to Trump and other leaders with actual authority, like New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), while Biden has largely fallen off the national radar.
&#8220;But, almost no matter what happens,&#8221; said Plouffe, the question remains if Trump can win Rust Belt and other battleground states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Florida. The former Obama 2008 campaign manager&#8217;s answer: &#8220;Sure.&#8221;
The reason, he explained, is that Trump&#8217;s base is so &#8220;solid,&#8221; and, he predicts, pro-Trump turnout will be massive. &#8220;I think he&#8217;s going to turn out voters almost at a historical level on his behalf,&#8221; Plouffe said, &#8220;so that makes him very dangerous if you&#8217;re Joe Biden.&#8221;
What&#8217;s making it even harder for Biden, he suggested, is that the crisis is eclipsing the usual campaign season to such a degree that Biden has been forced far into the background &#8212; and &#8220;there&#8217;s nothing he can do about it.&#8221;
&#8220;He&#8217;s not in office. He&#8217;s not a governor. He&#8217;s not the president,&#8221; said Plouffe, as Fox reports. &#8220;And truthfully, Andrew Cuomo, Gavin Newsom [and] Donald Trump, citizens want to hear from those folks because they&#8217;re the folks making decisions.&#8221;
Biden is left having to &#8220;leverage&#8221; interviews and social media every day in an attempt to gain some national attention in the midst of the new cycle-dominating, economy-crushing crisis.
Plouffe also offered his prediction about what the next four years would be under whichever candidate wins. It will be a term &#8220;defined&#8221; by attempting to dig the country out of &#8220;a really deep economic hole,&#8221; he said.
With the Democratic Party already pushing back the date of its national convention from July to August and much talk about a &#8220;virtual convention,&#8221; Plouffe said that the election might also have to be conducted in an unprecedented manner, perhaps entirely by mail-in.
As a result of the state-wide shutdowns of entire industries, a historic number of people have filed for unemployment. In just two weeks, nearly <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/labor-department-reveals-highest-ever-jobless-claims-6-6-million-last-week-nearly-10-million-in-2-weeks">10 million</a> Americans filed jobless claims, blowing away any previous records. Before three weeks ago, the highest number of unemployment claims in the country&#8217;s history was 695,000, which occurred in 1982. In a two-week stretch since the lockdowns orders have been rolling out, 3.3 million and 6.6 million people have filed for unemployment.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/read-trumps-devastating-open-letter-to-schumer-i-never-knew-how-bad-a-senator-you-are">READ: Trump’s Devastating Open Letter To Schumer: ‘I Never Knew How Bad A Senator You Are’</a>

David Plouffe

Ex-Obama Campaign Manager Explains How Crisis Not Hurting Trump, Setting Back Biden

Barack Obama

Donald Trump

Gavin Newsom

Joe Biden

On Thursday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo provided the daily update for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
During the presser, the governor offered a sobering and grim warning that the state has only about six days until it runs out of ventilators if the “current burn rate” continues.
<blockquote>At the current burn rate, we have about six days of ventilators in our stockpile, meaning if the rate of usage, the rate of people coming into hospitals who need ventilators, if that rate continues, in our stockpile, we have about six days. Now, if the apex happens within that time frame, if the apex increases, if the apex is longer, we have an issue with ventilators.</blockquote>
Cuomo added that the numbers will be compiled nightly, and that there “is a difference of opinion” as to how many ventilators will be needed. Cuomo continued, saying that while he has no desire to purchase more ventilators than are necessary, “we need what we need.”
“If a person comes in and needs a ventilator, and you don&#8217;t have a ventilator, the person dies,” the governor stated. “That’s the blunt equation here – and right now we have a burn rate that would suggest we have about six days in the stockpile.”
Despite this, the governor noted that the state is “taking all sorts of extraordinary measures” to increase ventilator supplies, including setting up the means to move ventilators to various hospitals in need, splitting ventilators, using “anesthesia machine ventilators,” ending elective surgeries, and using BiPAP machines. The state is also actively looking for more ventilators for purchase.
<blockquote>So yes, the burn rate of ventilators is troubling, and six days of ventilators in the stockpile is troubling, but we have all these extraordinary measures that I believe if push comes to shove, will put us in fairly good shape.</blockquote>
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The governor also went over the numbers for the state.
The hospitalization rate has dropped for the third day in a row. At peak on Monday, there were 1,412 single-day hospitalizations in the state, while on Wednesday, there were 1,157. However, the overall trajectory is still upward.
While the number of ICU admissions has bobbed up and down, the overall trajectory is upward, with 374 admissions on Wednesday, tying the March 26 record. For comparison, on March 17, there were just 46 ICU admissions.
Despite two consecutive days of downward steps, the number of intubations on Wednesday ticked back up, setting a record with 313. On March 17, there were 43 intubations.
The number of discharged patients has continued to rise, with 1,292 on Wednesday.
The governor also spoke about the apex of COVID-19 in New York, when hospitals and medical workers are expected to be stretched the most, noting that various models have set the apex anywhere from 7 to 30 days from Wednesday, depending on variables such as how particular models value the impact of social distancing.
“We believe it is closer to the shorter end of the range with our in-house people looking at the professional modeling that’s being done,” Cuomo stated.
As for how prepared the state is for the apex, Cuomo said that there are currently 53,000 beds statewide, while they are anticipating a need for between 70,000 and 110,000 at peak. The governor then noted the ways in which the state is trying to account for the upcoming influx, including expanding existing hospital capacity and erecting additional facilities.
New York has also seen roughly 85,000 volunteers who will be sent where necessary.
As for death toll projections, Cuomo cited the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) <a href="https://covid19.healthdata.org/projections">model</a>, which as of Thursday predicts that New York will see approximately 16,200 deaths from COVID-19.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cuomo-on-covid-19-were-never-going-to-be-the-same-again-how-do-we-learn-from-this">Cuomo On COVID-19: ‘We’re Never Going To Be The Same Again,’ ‘How Do We Learn From This?’</a>

Cuomo Says At ‘Current Burn Rate,’ New York Runs Out Of Ventilators In ‘About 6 Days’; Measures Being Taken To Expand Capacity

In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called on President Trump to appoint a senior military official to oversee the production and distribution of medical equipment, saying that the man Trump appointed and the Coronavirus Task Force were &#8220;not up to the job.&#8221; President Trump responded Thursday morning by saying he&#8217;s already done that and unloading on the Democratic leader for complaining now while failing to &#8220;push harder&#8221; for needed equipment earlier.
Speaking with CNN&#8217;s Erin Burnett Wednesday, Schumer sounded the alarm over the &#8220;dramatic shortage of all the needed supplies or most of them, whether it&#8217;s masks, whether it&#8217;s PPE [Personal Protective Equipment] &#8230; whether it&#8217;s ventilators.&#8221;
&#8220;And we have no one really in charge,&#8221; the senator said, as reported by <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/490739-schumer-calls-for-military-official-to-act-as-medical-equipment-czar">The Hill</a>. The result is the &#8220;awful spectacle of governors bidding against one another,&#8221; he added.
While Schumer said he believes Peter Navarro — the man who is serving as coordinator of the Defense Production Act, which allows the federal government to order industries to produce needed goods in extreme emergencies — is a &#8220;very nice man,&#8221; he does not believe he is equipped to handle the crisis. “I talked to [Navarro],&#8221; said Schumer. &#8220;He is not up to the job. He is a very nice man, but he has no experience doing things like this.&#8221; As far as he can tell, Schumer said, &#8220;no one&#8221; is in charge of the distribution of medical supplies.
The solution, he suggested, is to appoint a high-ranking military person to take over the job. “They need one person, a military person, a general who knows how to deal with logistics and quartermastering, who knows command and control,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You need to place that person, the czar, in charge of both production and distribution of all of these kinds of needed equipment and get it to the places that are needed.&#8221;
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Trump responded to Schumer&#8217;s comments in a series of posts Thursday morning in which he pointed out that he has already put a military official in charge of the process.
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&#8220;Somebody please explain to Cryin’ Chuck Schumer that we do have a military man in charge of distributing goods, a very talented Admiral, in fact,&#8221; said Trump, in reference to Rear Adm. John Polowczyk, whom Trump recently <a href="https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-supply-chain-task-force-2b6be629-170c-4874-9991-7f8b3f6c5320.html">tasked</a> with overseeing America&#8217;s coronavirus supply chain.
&#8220;New York has gotten far more than any other State, including hospitals [and] a hospital ship, but no matter what, always complaining. It wouldn’t matter if you got ten times what was needed, it would never be good enough,&#8221; Trump continued. &#8220;Unlike other states, New York unfortunately got off to a late start. You should have pushed harder. Stop complaining [and] find out where all of these supplies are going. [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo working hard!&#8221;
&#8220;Massive amounts of medical supplies, even hospitals and medical centers, are being delivered directly to states and hospitals by the Federal Government,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;Some have insatiable appetites [and] are never satisfied (politics?). Remember, we are a backup for them. The complainers should have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit. Other states are thrilled with the job we have done. Sending many Ventilators today, with thousands being built. 51 large cargo planes coming in with medical supplies. Prefer sending directly to hospitals.&#8221;
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&#8230;It wouldn’t matter if you got ten times what was needed, it would never be good enough. Unlike other states, New York unfortunately got off to a late start. You should have pushed harder. Stop complaining &amp; find out where all of these supplies are going. Cuomo working hard!
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1245696907718078465?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&#8230;.have been stocked up and ready long before this crisis hit. Other states are thrilled with the job we have done. Sending many Ventilators today, with thousands being built. 51 large cargo planes coming in with medical supplies. Prefer sending directly to hospitals.
&mdash; Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1245701859697967105?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 2, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Schumer Calls For Military Official To Be Medical Equipment Czar; Trump: I’ve Already Done That

Charles Schumer

During a Wednesday press conference on COVID-19, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “We are never going to be the same,” and “we can’t forget what happened here.”
At the outset of the presser, Cuomo went over the latest numbers for the state of New York, which could provide insight for other major metropolitan areas that haven’t yet experienced the full brunt of the illness, as New York has become the American epicenter for COVID-19.
While hospitalization rates have bobbed up and down, the overall trend is still ticking upward, with 1,297 hospitalizations on Tuesday compared with just 91 on March 16. Monday currently holds the record for single-day hospitalizations at 1,412.
Similar to the number of hospitalizations, the number of ICU admissions continues to trend upward, with 312 on Tuesday compared with just 46 on March 17. The trajectory for ICU admissions is more volatile than general hospitalizations, however, with March 26 holding the record high of 374.
As for daily intubations, despite three consecutive days of downward steps, the general trajectory from March 17 through Tuesday is upward. 291 people had to be intubated on Tuesday.
The trajectory of discharged patients is also going up, with 1,167 people being discharged on Tuesday.
After noting that “nobody knows what’s going to happen” for sure with the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor stated that what New Yorkers do have are the “facts.” What the latest data suggests is that the apex of COVID-19 in New York will come at the “end of April,” according to Governor Cuomo.
“Every day you get additional data, they run that data into the model, and they refine the model,” said Cuomo, noting that there are numerous models, and consulting firm McKinsey has synthesized the various models into a moving projection.
“But what we’re looking at now is the apex, top of the curve, roughly at the end of April, which means another month of this,” the governor said, adding that the model, which is based on “minimal social distancing impact,” shows that New York would need 110,000 “COVID beds” and 37,000 ventilators. “High compliance with social distancing” would mean a drop to 75,000 “COVID beds” and 25,000 ventilators at the apex.
After rebuking young people, who he says are not getting “the message” as it pertains to social distancing, Cuomo spoke more broadly about the future, and how the COVID-19 pandemic will “change us.”
<blockquote>As a society, beyond just this immediate situation, we should start looking forward to understand how this experience is going to change us, or how it should change us because this is going to be transformative. It is going to be transformative on a personal basis, on a social basis, on a systems basis.
We’re never going to be the same again. We’re not going to forget what happened here. The fear that we have, the anxiety that we have, that’s not just going to go away. When do we get back to normal? I don’t think we get back to normal. I think we get to a new normal, like we’re seeing in so many facets of society right now&#8230;
Our challenge is to make sure that transformation and that change is positive and not negative. Lets make sure we’re taking the positive lesson and not the negative lesson. You could get wary of intimacy and contact and density &#8230; what a terrible thing to live with as a human being. What a cruel torture. “Isolate yourself from other people. Be afraid of hugging someone.” Just think how emotionally and personally repugnant that concept is, right? We crave human connection&#8230;
So, how we come out of this, and making sure that it’s positive and not negative? How do we learn from this and how do we grow from this?</blockquote>
Cuomo went on to pose the question, “What happens when something like this happens again?”
“You can’t just turn off the economy like a light switch,” the governor said.
<blockquote>How do governments work together? &#8230; Learn the lessons from this &#8230; Why weren’t we ready with a tele-education system? Why weren’t we better at telemedicine? &#8230; Why don’t we have medical supplies made in this country? Why are we shopping in China for basic medical supplies? Why don’t we gear our medical research to these types of threats and challenges, which we know are on the horizon? &#8230; Let’s talk about first responder capacity &#8230; what’s the backup to that situation?</blockquote>
Cuomo concluded by talking “about societal stability and engagement at times of crisis.”
<blockquote>You can’t just tell everyone, “Go home and lock your doors and sit on your couch and order takeout for the foreseeable future.” That’s not who we are. It’s not even a mental health issue. It’s a personal health issue. It’s how we relate to one another. We’re not built to be isolated for long periods of time and not have human contact. So, how do we deal with that? These are the types of questions that we have to start to think through.</blockquote>
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COVID-19, which originated in China’s Hubei province, has infected over 921,900 people worldwide, and led to more than 46,250 deaths, <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">according to data</a> from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map. 192,964 people have recovered.
In the United States, there have been more than 206,200 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and over 4,500 deaths. As of publication, 8,413 individuals have recovered from the virus.
According to the New York State <a href="https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/county-county-breakdown-positive-cases">website</a>, there have been 83,712 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/01/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-update.html">1,941 deaths</a>. In New York City alone, there have been over 44,900 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 1,139 deaths.

Cuomo On COVID-19: ‘We’re Never Going To Be The Same Again,’ ‘How Do We Learn From This?’

Sandra Lee, American television chef and ex-girlfriend to Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), scolded the internet for “body shaming” the governor during a public health crisis, and spreading a rumor that he has piercings on his nipples.
“I woke up this morning to a lot of stuff going on online, a lot of stories being written and a lot of nonsense being said, and I just want to say, body shaming is not okay, it’s never going to be okay,” said Lee, in an exclusive video message to <a href="https://pagesix.com/2020/04/01/andrew-cuomo-ex-sandra-lee-enough-with-nonsense-nipple-piercing-talk/?_ga=2.237062280.984266118.1585186785-1304689874.1565039752">Page Six</a>.
“When people are out on the front lines, working so hard for all of our benefits, to then turn around and body shame? Shame on you, knock it off,” said Lee, who dated Cuomo for over a decade. “Do something to uplift people and make the world a better place, not take cheap shots that are unnecessary.”
“Anyway, I hope you all have a great day and think about that for a little while, and I send you all my love and best wishes,” she said, reports the news agency.
Lee’s message comes a day after The New York Post published <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/31/andrew-cuomos-nipples-take-our-minds-off-coronavirus/?_ga=2.131006983.984266118.1585186785-1304689874.1565039752">an article</a> about the New York governor’s body, titled “Andrew Cuomo’s Nipples Take Our Mind Off Coronavirus.” The article featured comments from a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/fq6ij8/is_it_just_me_or_is_cuomos_nipple_totally_pierced/">Reddit thread</a>, where someone posted a picture of the governor in a polo shirt and remarked, “Is it just me or is Cuomo’s nipple totally pierced.”
When asked for comment by The Post, a spokesperson for the governor’s office affirmatively dismissed the rumor that the governor’s nipples are pierced: “Of course not, sorry, internet.”
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/coronavirus-response-sends-cuomos-popularity-surging-11585560602">The Wall Street Journal</a>, Cuomo has been experiencing extremely high levels of support among New Yorkers amidst his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, with a total of 87% of respondents approving of the governor, including 70% of Republicans.
The governor’s popularity has prompted President Trump to indicate that he wouldn’t mind running against him during the upcoming presidential election, reports <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-says-cuomo-i-wouldn-t-mind-running-against-andrew-n1171941">NBC News</a>.
“If he’s going to run, that’s fine,” said Trump on Monday. “I wouldn’t mind running against Andrew. I’ve known Andrew for a long time. I wouldn’t mind that but I’ll be honest, I think he’d be a better candidate than sleepy Joe.”
But the buzz about the governor’s potential presidential ambitions appears to be as true as the piercing rumor, at least for now. As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-new-york-democratic-governor-andrew-cuomo-discusses-presidential-run">The Daily Wire</a> reported on Monday, Cuomo was interviewed by CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, the governor’s younger brother, and declined ever having presidential aspirations.
<blockquote>CHRIS: With all of this adulation you’re getting for doing your job, are you thinking about running for president? Tell the audience.
ANDREW: No. No.
CHRIS: No, you won’t answer?
ANDREW: No. I answered. The answer is no. Sometimes it’s one word. I said, “No.”
CHRIS: No, you’re not thinking about it? Have you thought about it?
ANDREW: No.
CHRIS: Are you open to thinking about it?
ANDREW: No.
CHRIS: Might you think about it at some point?
ANDREW: No.</blockquote>
Governor Cuomo then praised former Vice President Joe Biden for his leadership capabilities and experience: “I think he’s been extraordinary on a number of levels. I think he’s a good man. I think he has a good heart. I think he has a good soul. I think he’s well meaning. He’s knowledgeable as heck. He has wisdom. And I think he’s a leader.”

US-HEALTH-virus-Cuomo-POLITICS

‘Shame On You’: Gov Cuomo’s Ex Scolds Internet Over Rumor He Has Pierced Nipples

New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo joined his little brother, Chris Cuomo, on Monday for an interview where he was asked about the possibility that he may enter the 2020 presidential race.
The segment comes as Cuomo has seen his approval rating on his handling of the coronavirus outbreak skyrocket to 87% among New Yorkers in a new Siena College poll that was released today.
During the interview on CNN, Cuomo repeatedly claimed that he was not thinking about running for office and that he would not think about it in the future.
Cuomo later praised Democratic presidential front runner Joe Biden, saying that &#8220;He relates to people all across the country that way and his sense of connectivity, his sense of capacity, you put all that together and he’s the real deal.&#8221;
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he has no plans to ever run for President, has not considered it, and will never consider it. <a href="https://t.co/igWoHEPPNm">https://t.co/igWoHEPPNm</a> <a href="https://t.co/fv1bVgfSNm">pic.twitter.com/fv1bVgfSNm</a>
&mdash; Cuomo Prime Time (@CuomoPrimeTime) <a href="https://twitter.com/CuomoPrimeTime/status/1244796772481994753?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 31, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
PARTIAL TRANSCRIPT:
<blockquote>CHRIS: With all of this adulation you’re getting for doing your job, are you thinking about running for president? Tell the audience.
ANDREW: No. No.
CHRIS: No, you won’t answer?
ANDREW: No. I answered. The answer is no. Sometimes it’s one word. I said no.
CHRIS: No, you’re not thinking about it? Have you thought about it?
ANDREW: No.
CHRIS: Are you open to thinking about it?
ANDREW: No.
CHRIS: Might you think about it at some point?
ANDREW: No.
CHRIS: How can you know what you might think about at some point right now?
ANDREW: Because I know what I might think about and what I won’t think about. But you’re a great interviewer, by the way.
CHRIS: What do you think of him trying to play you against Biden? He’s trying to say, &#8216;Joe Biden is weak, look, even Cuomo is stronger than he is, and he’s not even running.&#8217; What’s your response?
ANDREW: Again, that’s your interpretation of what you think the president was saying. I know Joe Biden many, many years. I worked with him when he was vice president. He has been a tremendous asset to the state of New York when he was the vice president with President Obama. So, I’ve worked with him on a professional level. I know him very well personally. I can’t say enough good things about Joe Biden, so I think he’s a great public servant. I think he’s been extraordinary on a number of levels. I think he’s a good man. I think he has a good heart. I think he has a good soul. I think he’s well meaning. He’s knowledgeable as heck. He has wisdom. And I think he’s a leader. At one point, Chris, it comes down to a simple concept. It’s about leadership, right? The experience, the wisdom, the capacity to do the job. Not just think about it. Not just talk about it. Not just tweet about it. Do the job. And Joe Biden is a guy who does the job for real Americans, right? We grew up middle-class new yorkers. We relate to him that way. He relates to people all across the country that way. And his sense of connectivity, his sense of capacity, you put all that together and he’s the real deal.</blockquote>

Major Cities In The U.S. Adjust To Restrictive Coronavirus Measures

WATCH: New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo Discusses Presidential Run

Chris Cuomo

New York governor Andrew Cuomo&#8217;s popularity hit an all time high Monday, with an astounding 71% of his constituents saying they approve of the job he&#8217;s doing, particularly with regard to the coronavirus pandemic.
&#8220;A new Siena College poll out Monday finds Cuomo&#8217;s favorability rating has soared to 71 percent, up 27 points in just a month to its highest level since early 2013,&#8221; New York City&#8217;s NBC affiliate reported Monday.
&#8220;That&#8217;s driven entirely by his response to COVID-19, where a stunning 87 percent of the public approves of his handling of the situation,&#8221; the outlet added. &#8220;His support is so broad, Siena said, that even 70 percent of Republicans approve of his work on the virus.&#8221;
The 71% approval rating is the highest of Cuomo&#8217;s seven-year term, giving him an unprecedented advantage as he handles the coronavirus pandemic, which has, so far, made New York City its epicenter. Nearly 50% of all new coronavirus cases in the United States are in the state of New York, with the outbreak mostly centered around Manhattan.
New York City&#8217;s NBC affiliate credits Cuomo&#8217;s daily briefings with earning him a measure of goodwill among New York residents. Although New York City mayor Bill de Blasio should be leading the charge &#8212; at least partly &#8212; the governor, not the mayor, has been visibly in control, occasionally overriding De Blasio and even stepping in when it appears the mayor is failing.
The response has been so positive for Cuomo that some Democrats have suggested dumping the two remaining contenders for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination &#8212; former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) &#8212; and replacing them with Cuomo. Cuomo&#8217;s name was even floated as a potential vice president for Biden, who is currently the presumptive nominee, but Biden&#8217;s pledge to select a female running mate would likely pre-empt that option.
President Donald Trump, when asked over the weekend about the possibility of facing Cuomo in the 2020 presidential campaign, seemed bullish on the idea.
“If he&#8217;s going to run, that&#8217;s fine,&#8221; Trump told reporters, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/trump-says-cuomo-i-wouldn-t-mind-running-against-andrew-n1171941">per NBC News</a>. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t mind running against Andrew. I’ve known Andrew for a long time. I wouldn&#8217;t mind that but I&#8217;ll be honest, I think he’d be a better candidate than sleepy Joe.&#8221;
&#8220;I wouldn’t mind running against Andrew; I don’t mind running against Joe Biden,&#8221; the president added. “I think probably Andrew would be better. I&#8217;m telling you right now, you know, I want somebody [for] this country that&#8217;s gonna do a great job, and I hope I&#8217;m going to win.”
Cuomo, for his part, has said he has no intention of jumping into the race, despite his good chances.
&#8220;I am not engaging the president in politics,&#8221; Cuomo said during a weekend press conference. &#8220;My only goal is to engage the president in partnership. This is no time for politics.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;m not going to rise to the bait of a political challenge,&#8221; he added. &#8220;I&#8217;m not running for president, I was never running for president. I said from day one I wasn&#8217;t running for president. I&#8217;m not running for president now. I&#8217;m not playing politics.&#8221;

Andrew Cuomo’s Popularity Hits All Time High; Trump Says He ‘Wouldn’t Mind’ Running Against New York Gov

2020 Election

On Sunday, during New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s daily press briefing regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the governor said that the Empire State cannot reasonably expect to come out on the other end of this without seeing deaths in the thousands.
According to data from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map, in New York City alone, which has become a national hotspot for the virus, there have been more than 32,300 confirmed cases, and 678 deaths as of publication.
Prior to speaking about projections related to the death toll, Cuomo noted the astonishing number of health care workers who have volunteered in the state:
<blockquote>In terms of finding staff, that’s going very well. The volunteerism of New Yorkers, God bless them. We&#8217;re up to 76,000 health care workers who have volunteered. 76,000 people who volunteered to go into these hospitals at this time. Just think about that.</blockquote>
The governor continued, speaking about how it’s important to observe the trend-lines in case numbers, hospitalizations, intubations, deaths, and recoveries.
“If you look early on, the hospitalization rate was doubling every two days; then it doubled every three days; then it doubled every four days; now it&#8217;s doubling every six days,” Cuomo stated. “So, you have almost a dichotomy. The doubling rate is slowing, and that is good news, but the number of cases are still going up &#8230; towards an apex, but the rate of the doubling is slowing, which is good news.”
According to slides shown during the briefing, the number of hospitalizations in New York has risen, from 91 in mid-March to 1,175 on Saturday. The numbers can bob up and down (there were 847 hospitalizations on Friday), but the overall trend is upward.
Another slide showing ICU admissions was a little more bumpy. Nevertheless, it showed that aside from a surge on Thursday of 374 ICU admissions, the trend has been slowly ticking up. There were 282 admissions on Saturday, as opposed to 46 on March 17.
The next slide showed that daily intubations were rising as well, but saw a drop-off on Friday and Saturday.
Another important trend-line is those who have been discharged from the hospital. According to the data shown on Cuomo’s slide, there has been a steep upward trajectory in discharged COVID-19 patients, from a low of 78 on March 19 to Saturday’s high of 846.
During a question and answer session following the main remarks, a reporter asked the governor about how social distancing guidelines will impact Easter and Passover, and what advise he would give to religious people during this time.
Cuomo replied:
<blockquote>It&#8217;s hard. But on the flip-side, I say, look at what happened in New Rochelle. Those gatherings [that] brought people together were religious gatherings, and brought hundreds of people together, which was beautiful – but it made many, many people ill. And density is the enemy here for this particular time. So, you worship the way you can, but the gatherings are just not a good idea.</blockquote>
One reporter asked about projections related to when New York will hit the apex, to which New York’s Commissioner of Health Dr. Howard Zucker said: “There [are] many different projections that we’re working at, and it does see that &#8230; already we&#8217;re at 965. So, we do see in the thousands, but again, these are models and we have to plan for what the model may show, but hopefully it will be less.”
When pressed again, Cuomo added his opinion, making sure to stress that it was not data, but opinion:
<blockquote>I don&#8217;t see how you look at those numbers and conclude anything less than thousands of people will pass away because remember who it&#8217;s attacking. It’s attacking the vulnerable, underlying illness, etc, and I don&#8217;t see how you get past that curve without seeing thousands of people pass away. I hope it&#8217;s wrong&#8230;</blockquote>
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cTqhmfXLL2o" width="720" height="385" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
COVID-19, which originated in China’s Hubei province, has infected nearly 713,000 people worldwide, and led to more than 33,590 deaths, <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">according to data</a> from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map. 148,995 people have recovered.
According the the New York State <a href="https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/county-county-breakdown-positive-cases">website</a>, there have been 59,513 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, and 965 deaths.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dr-birx-says-full-mitigation-is-vital-because-no-metro-area-will-be-spared-of-covid-19">Dr. Birx Says ‘Full Mitigation’ Is Vital Because ‘No Metro Area Will Be Spared’ Of COVID-19</a>

Doctors

Gov. Cuomo Says Tens Of Thousands Of ‘Health Care Workers’ Have Volunteered In New York; Gives Other Updates

Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo (D-RI) has expanded her state’s self-quarantine policy after Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) complained that New York was being unfairly singled out, and threatened to sue the nation&#8217;s smallest state in response.
In a press conference on Sunday, Raimondo told reporters that the self-quarantine mandate — which previously required travelers fleeing New York to self-quarantine for 14 days, and leveraged the police and National Guard to track down travelers and ask them to follow the policy — would now extend to travelers visiting from every state for non-work related reasons, reports <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/albany/story/2020/03/29/rhode-island-ends-restrictions-on-new-yorkers-1269535">Politico</a>. 
“As the data has changed, the situation has changed,” said Raimondo. “To keep all Rhode Islanders safe, I signed an executive order imposing a quarantine on all visitors from any state, by any mode of transportation, who are coming in Rhode Island for non-work purposes and plan to stay.”
The Rhode Island Democrat also revealed that she spoke to Cuomo after enacting the policy, but maintained that Cuomo’s threat to sue the state didn’t factor into her decision to change the policy, reports the news agency. 
“He’s welcome to sue if he likes. I think he would have a very hard time because I’m on firm legal ground,” said Raimondo. “I will say I think it’s odd that Governor Cuomo is focused on this sort of politics at a time that we’re fighting disasters.”
The Associated Press <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/rhode-island-to-stop-all-passenger-vehicles-at-southern-border/31970610#">reports</a> that the new policy will establish highway checkpoints where government officials will ask travelers planning to stay in the state for non-work reasons to self-quarantine for 14 days and provide contact information. 
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-decides-against-federal-quarantine-of-new-york-announces-upcoming-travel-advisory">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported, Cuomo threatened to sue Rhode Island on Saturday evening, arguing that “no state should be using police to limit interstate travel.” 
“There’s a point of absurdity, and I think what Rhode Island did is at that point of absurdity,” said Cuomo, reports <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/29/rhode-island-begins-door-to-door-checks-for-new-yorkers-fleeing-coronavirus/">The New York Post</a>. “We have to keep the ideas and the policies we implement positive rather than reactionary and emotional.”
Governor Cuomo also told CNN on Saturday evening that President Trump was engaging in war-like rhetoric for telling reporters that he was considering an unspecified federal quarantine of New York.
“I don’t believe it is legal. I think it would be economic chaos. I don’t think the American people would stand for it,” Governor Cuomo told CNN on Saturday evening. “This would be a declaration of war on states, a federal declaration of war, and wouldn’t just be New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, next week it would be Louisiana with New Orleans, and week after that Detroit, Michigan, and it would run across the nation.”
President Trump decided against the plan, and instead announced that the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html">Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention</a> would issue a rare domestic travel advisory to urge “residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to refrain from non-essential domestic travel for 14 days effective immediately.”
However, the advisory is not federally mandated and the Trump administration has given discretion to the governor’s of affected states to implement the policy.

Raimondo Gives Update on State Response

Rhode Island Expands Quarantine Policy After Cuomo Complains NY Was Singled Out

Rhode Island

Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) threatened Governor Gina Raimondo (D-RI) with a lawsuit over a new state quarantine policy, which would involve using the police and National Guard to track down people fleeing to Rhode Island from New York and forcing them to self-quarantine.
&#8220;We’re talking to Rhode Island now. If they don’t roll back that policy, I’m going to sue Rhode Island,&#8221; Cuomo said on CNN Saturday evening, reports the<a href="https://1010wins.radio.com/articles/ap-news/cuomo-threatens-to-sue-rhode-island-over-coronavirus-policy"> radio station</a> 101Wins. &#8220;No state should be using police to limit interstate travel.&#8221;
During a press conference announcing the policy, Raimondo noted that Rhode Island would be instructing anyone returning from outside the state to self-quarantine for 14 days, but elaborated that special measures would be taken to enforce the policy as it pertains to people leaving from New York, as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rhode-island-gov-uses-national-guard-to-enforce-mandated-self-quarantine-for-new-yorkers-entering-state-it-comes-with-penalties">The Daily Wire</a> previously reported.
“Starting today at noon, state police are monitoring our highways, they’re at the base of the Newport Bridge, they are on the side roads in Westerly, and they will be pulling you over if they see that you have New York plates, and asking you for your contact information, and ordering you into quarantine if you plan to stay in Rhode Island,” said Raimondo.
“Starting tomorrow, the National Guard will be working with local law enforcement going door-to-door in our coastal communities, asking people if they’ve come from New York, and asking for their contact information,” said the governor.
According to <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/rhode-island-governor-says-new-yorkers-will-be-quarantined-if-they-seek-refuge-in-state">The Washington Examiner</a>, Raimondo announced that she had “pinpointed” New York City as a specific risk to public health, and admitted that the quarantine policy was unorthodox: “I know it’s extreme, and I know some people disagree with it. If you want to seek refuge in Rhode Island, you must be quarantined.”
In a press release, Steven Brown, the executive director of the Rhode Island ACLU, criticized Raimondo’s move as an unconstitutional measure and violation of civil liberties, referring to it as a “blunderbuss approach.”
According to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/nyregion/coronavirus-new-york-update.html">The New York Times</a>, President Trump floated a similar-sounding proposal, informing White House reporters on Saturday that he was considering quarantine and travel-restriction measures for New York, and potentially New Jersey and portions of Connecticut.
“I’d rather not do it,” said the president, who maintained that it was possible, but did not provide details of what he was envisioning, reports the news agency.
As <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rhode-island-gov-uses-national-guard-to-enforce-mandated-self-quarantine-for-new-yorkers-entering-state-it-comes-with-penalties">The Daily Wire</a> has previously reported, Cuomo implied the president’s suggestion wasn’t serious and compared the move to a declaration of war on the states.
“I don’t believe that he could be serious, that any federal administration could be serious about a physical lockdown of states or parts of states across this country,” said Cuomo. “I don’t believe it is legal. I think it would be economic chaos. I don’t think the American people would stand for it.”
“I’ve sued the federal government many times by the way over the past few years, we’ve had quite a number of policy decisions,” said Cuomo. “This would be a declaration of war on states, a federal declaration of war, and wouldn’t just be New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, next week it would be Louisiana with New Orleans, and [the] week after that Detroit, Michigan, and it would run across the nation.”

Governor Cuomo Threatens Rhode Island With Lawsuit Over NY Quarantine Policy

New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo told CNN on Saturday that if President Donald Trump put a quarantine on New York to stop the spread of the coronavirus that it would be a &#8220;federal declaration of war&#8221; on the state.
“Look, if the president was considering this, I guarantee he would have called me. I mean, we talk about relatively trivial matters when it comes to dealing with this situation,” Cuomo said. This is a civil war kind of — this is civil war kind of discussion.”
“I don’t believe that he could be serious, that any federal administration could be serious about a physical lockdown of states or parts of states across this country,” Cuomo continued. “I don’t believe it is legal. I think it would be economic chaos. I don’t think the American people would stand for it. It’s just a question of time before you see the numbers growing in hot spots across the nation. So, I think it makes absolutely no sense and I don’t believe any serious governmental personality or professional would support it.”
“I’ve sued the federal government many times by the way over the past few years, we’ve had quite a number of policy decisions,” Cuomo later added. “I do not believe it’s going to come to that on this. Again, I have been speaking to the president. This would be a declaration of war on states, a federal declaration of war, and wouldn’t just be New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, next week it would be Louisiana with New Orleans, and week after that Detroit, Michigan, and it would run across the nation. I don’t think the president is looking to start a lot of wars with states just about now for a lot of reasons.”
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Gov. Cuomo on possibility Trump will impose enforced quarantine on New York: &quot;This would be a declaration of war on states.&quot; <a href="https://t.co/7rCFHMWzTh">pic.twitter.com/7rCFHMWzTh</a>
&mdash; Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) <a href="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1244020106658820097?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Later in the interview, CNN’s Ana Cabrera asked Cuomo, “What’s the status when it comes to ventilators in New York state? Because I know that’s been one of the big issues of concern for you.”
Cuomo responded, “Well, the ventilators which by the way, before this situation nobody really gave a second thought to ventilators, what has happened, one of the peculiar situations with this disease it’s a respiratory disease, it effects the lungs very badly and people who are acutely ill with the virus they all need a ventilator and they’re on these ventilators much longer than most people are on ventilators with other diseases.&#8221;
&#8220;So you have more people needing ventilators, and they’re on them longer, which increases the need for the ventilators. And everybody is trying to get ventilators,&#8221; Cuomo continued. &#8220;You have 50 states bidding against each other for ventilators. You have 50 states competing with the federal government to buy ventilators. You have countries around the world trying to get ventilators. So we’re trying to do the best we can. We’re acquiring as many as we can. There’s a new technology that we’re using that splits, they call it splitting, where one ventilator can do two people. We are implementing that procedure across the state, and we’re doing the best we can to move people that need the ventilators to places that have the ventilators. But that’s one of the great logistical problems with this entire situation.&#8221;

Governor Cuomo: Trump Quarantining New York To Stop Coronavirus Is ‘Declaration Of War’ On New York

The extra-large pack of journalists who equate liberalism and professionalism in their work cannot stand that Fox News exists. They believe everything elected Republicans do should be &#8220;fact-checked&#8221; and routinely punished. For Democrats, the elite media offer damage control; for Republicans, only damage.
The onset of the novel coronavirus is simply another occasion for the usual routine. The liberal media are prosecuting Fox for supposedly shoving Americans off a coronavirus cliff with misinformation. They&#8217;re also equating misinformation with the argument that the pandemic gave them a new rationale to cripple President Donald Trump politically.
The latter is not misinformation. It&#8217;s rock-solid, bank-on-it information.
Yes, the president and the conservative media were suspicious of all the worst-case scenarios and expressed skepticism about the threat. Many of us were initially reluctant to be dragged into a massive government intervention. Then Italy happened.
Ben Smith, the brand-new media columnist for The New York Times, is openly prosecuting Fox for deaths caused by the coronavirus. Smith asked Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Public Health Institute, whether he &#8220;believes people will die because of Fox&#8217;s coverage.&#8221; Jha said yes. &#8220;Some commentators in the right-wing media spread a very specific type of misinformation that I think has been very harmful,&#8221; he said.
Then Smith noted that Fox has been compared to a virus, quoting Bill Kristol, who was on Fox until 2012. &#8220;People act like Fox is a virus — beyond our control,&#8221; said Kristol. &#8220;There are people who run it, who have responsibility for it, and they could be held accountable.&#8221;
Kristol is a gentleman compared to Eric Boehlert, a leftist regular on the badly named program &#8220;AM Joy.&#8221; He shamelessly claimed: &#8220;Fox News has been getting people killed for years. I mean just look at their crusade against affordable health care, their crusade against expanding Medicaid. This is not unusual for them. &#8230; (T)hey are a cancer on this country.&#8221; No one is &#8220;fact-checking&#8221; that statement.
So where do we go from here? Trump suggested that perhaps the country could ease up on the social distancing restrictions by Easter Sunday. That caused another wave of rage aimed at Trump and his Fox &#8220;feedback loop.&#8221;
But the media recognize, even at The New York Times, the reality that federal and state governments have to balance the nation&#8217;s overall health with the nation&#8217;s economy. They don&#8217;t trust Trump. They trust Gov. Andrew Cuomo, whose coronavirus briefings are hailed by The Times as &#8220;communal therapy sessions.&#8221; Whenever Cuomo thinks we can relax, the media will declare relaxation is the responsible, nonpartisan solution.
Cuomo has said: &#8220;I take total responsibility for shutting off the economy in terms of essential workers. But, we also have to start to plan the pivot back to economic functionality, right? You can&#8217;t stop the economy forever. So we have to start to think about, &#8216;Does everyone stay out of work?'&#8221;
On The Times podcast, &#8220;The Daily,&#8221; reporter Maggie Haberman discussed at length how Fox News is warping Trump&#8217;s response to the coronavirus. She admitted, &#8220;in fairness to him, Gov. Cuomo has openly voiced the same moral dilemma that he is wrestling with.&#8221; But Haberman implied that Cuomo&#8217;s moral stand is superior: &#8220;It&#8217;s just that Gov. Cuomo came down on the other side of it, which was that there is no cost that can be put on human life.&#8221;
Liberal scribes love the noble-sounding ideological extreme &#8220;no cost can be put on human life.&#8221; It&#8217;s like they&#8217;ve never observed the way a socialist health care system mercilessly rations care and decides some lives aren&#8217;t worth extending. But they&#8217;ll just keep lamenting that the country&#8217;s well of information is poisoned by the news channel they pretend is the only ideologically polarized one.
Tim Graham is director of media analysis at the Media Research Center and executive editor of the blog NewsBusters.org. To find out more about Tim Graham, and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

Fox News

GRAHAM: Railing Against The Fox Virus?

Media Bias

With the help of the Food and Drug Administration, which has fast-tracked the effort, the state of New York is trying out potential treatments for people who have contracted COVID-19. Under the direction of Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the state is testing out three medications — hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine and azithromycin — combinations of which have produced promising results for those infected by coronavirus, which President Trump has repeatedly highlighted in public statements.
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/26/trump-keeps-touting-an-unproven-coronavirus-treatment-its-now-being-tested-thousands-new-york/">The Washington Post</a>, which, like many other left-leaning mainstream outlets has criticized Trump for &#8220;overhyping&#8221; the medications as a potential treatment for the virus, reported Thursday on New York&#8217;s treatment effort, which the paper describes as a &#8220;human experiment&#8221; involving potentially thousands of patients that is &#8220;moving at unprecedented speed and scale.&#8221;
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&#8220;New York will use three medications — hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine in combination with the antibiotic azithromycin — contributed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Amneal Pharmaceuticals,&#8221; the paper reports, citing state officials. &#8220;The first wave of patients will receive hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin.&#8221;
The study&#8217;s findings will contribute to a federally coordinated &#8220;observational&#8221; trial, which will compare the treatment method with a placebo. &#8220;In addition to mortality and overall recovery, the study will measure patients’ overall viral load, duration on a ventilator and number of days in the hospital,&#8221; the Times explains.
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The Food and Drug Administration has moved with &#8220;uncommon speed&#8221; to authorize New York’s distribution of the drugs through hospitals, the Post notes. While experts say such an effort would usually take up to nine months, the timeline &#8220;has been compressed into three days,&#8221; the paper reports.
The Post repeatedly underscores that the treatment has not yet been proven to be effective by officials and highlights &#8220;concerns&#8221; among health experts about the Trump and Cuomo-promoted medications, which sometimes have dangerous side effects, like &#8220;fatal heart arrhythmia and vision loss.&#8221; The Post&#8217;s editorial board has accused Trump of causing &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/wapo-editors-lash-out-at-trump-for-spreading-false-hope-about-curing-virus">damage</a>&#8221; by pointing to the treatment as a potential &#8220;cure.&#8221; The paper&#8217;s new report suggests Trump, and to a lesser extent Cuomo, may be guilty of &#8220;raising false hopes in the American public&#8221; and &#8220;contribut[ing] to runs on supply and hoarding&#8221; of the drugs.
But the Republican president and the Democratic governor appear to agree that the promise of the much-needed treatment trumps concerns about &#8220;overhyping.&#8221;
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While the Post appears to remain skeptical about the &#8220;human experiment,&#8221; some in the health industry are praising the rapidity of the federal and state-coordinated action.  “I have never seen anything like this. It is amazing how the country and everybody can pull together and come up with quick, innovative ways to try to attack it,” said Northwell Health Chief Pharmacy Officer Onisis Stefas, the paper reports. “Everybody’s questioning it, and that’s why these studies need to be done to confirm it. There aren’t a lot of other options out there.”
Along with the urgency of testing out the potential treatment, Trump and Cuomo also appear to be aligning on the question of how long to maintain mandated lockdowns, with the governor recently questioning the effectiveness of mass quarantines.
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“We closed everything down. That was our public health strategy,” Cuomo <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cuomo-questions-quarantine-probably-not-the-best-public-health-strategy">said</a> Thursday. “If you re-thought that or had time to analyze that public health strategy, I don’t know that you would say ‘Quarantine everyone.’”
“I don’t even know that that was the best public health policy,” he said. “Young people then quarantined with older people, [it] was probably not the best public health strategy. The younger people could have been exposing the older people to an infection.”
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Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/harvard-researchers-one-long-lockdown-is-not-the-right-approach">Harvard Researchers: One Long Lockdown Is Not The Right Approach</a>
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly cited the New York Times as the source of the new report rather than the Washington Post.
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‘Unprecedented’: NY Begins Use Of Potential COVID-19 Treatments Fast-Tracked By Trump

Washington Post

On Thursday, Democratic Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo publicly questioned the full-quarantine measures his state implemented nearly two weeks ago.
The Democrat mused during a presser that quarantining everyone might have actually led to infections of the elderly, as young people were forced to live in close quarters with older folks.
&#8220;We closed everything down. That was our public health strategy,&#8221; Cuomo said, as reported by the <a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/26/cuomo-admits-that-quarantine-may-have-backfired-in-some-cases/">New York Post</a>. “If you re-thought that or had time to analyze that public health strategy, I don’t know that you would say ‘Quarantine everyone.&#8217;”
&#8220;I don’t even know that that was the best public health policy,&#8221; the governor admitted. &#8220;Young people then quarantined with older people, [it] was probably not the best public health strategy. The younger people could have been exposing the older people to an infection.&#8221;
When the Post inquired about Cuomo&#8217;s public quarantine-questioning, his office directed the outlet to an article posted in The New York Times opinion section by Dr. David Katz, last Friday. At a press conference on Monday, the Post noted, Cuomo specifically referenced Dr. Katz when similarly questioning quarantine measures.
“There’s a theory of risk stratification that Dr. Katz who’s at Yale University is working on, which is actually very interesting to me,” the governor said Monday. “Isolate people but really isolate the vulnerable people. Don’t isolate everyone because some people, most people, are not vulnerable to it.”
“And if you isolate all people, you may be actually exposing the more vulnerable people by bringing in a person who is healthier and stronger and who may have been exposed to the virus, right,&#8221; Cuomo added.
Dr. Katz piece, titled &#8220;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/20/opinion/coronavirus-pandemic-social-distancing.html">Is Our Fight Against Coronavirus Worse Than the Disease?</a>&#8221; illustrated that the damage being caused to the economy in anti-coronavirus efforts as &#8220;possibly graver than the direct toll of the virus itself.&#8221;
&#8220;I am deeply concerned that the social, economic and public health consequences of this near total meltdown of normal life — schools and businesses closed, gatherings banned — will be long lasting and calamitous, possibly graver than the direct toll of the virus itself,&#8221; Katz argued. &#8220;The stock market will bounce back in time, but many businesses never will. The unemployment, impoverishment and despair likely to result will be public health scourges of the first order.&#8221;
&#8220;Worse, I fear our efforts will do little to contain the virus, because we have a resource-constrained, fragmented, perennially underfunded public health system,&#8221; the doctored added. &#8220;Distributing such limited resources so widely, so shallowly and so haphazardly is a formula for failure. How certain are you of the best ways to protect your most vulnerable loved ones? How readily can you get tested?&#8221;
Still, Cuomo has yet to throw out any timeline with regard to quarantine policy change. Currently, all so-called nonessential business is closed. In fact, the only dates Cuomo has thrown out were in reference in continuing quarantine measures, and they have been extreme, ranging up to <a href="https://www.mediaite.com/news/cuomo-says-coronavirus-pandemic-could-last-as-long-as-9-months-up-to-80-of-population-could-get-infected/">nine months</a>.
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cuomo-details-two-pieces-of-good-news-out-of-new-york">Cuomo: Two Pieces Of Good News Out Of NY: Hospitalization Rate Drops, PPE Need Filled</a>

Cuomo Questions Quarantine: Probably Not The Best Public Health Strategy

In the midst of the state becoming the nation&#8217;s coronavirus &#8220;epicenter,&#8221; there is finally some good news coming out of New York.
According to messages from Governor Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), medical staffers have enough proactive gear for the immediate future and the rate of hospital admission in COVID-19 cases has decreased since Sunday.
During a Thursday press conference, Cuomo assured the public that there is enough personal protective equipment, or &#8220;PPE,&#8221; for medical health officials in the immediate future. The governor told reporters that his team has spoken to every hospital in the hard-hit coronavirus area and they confirmed their PPE needs are being met for at least the next couple days, which Cuomo stressed was the only realistic marker.
On Wednesday, Cuomo announced via Twitter that the state received a donation of 1.4 million masks, clearly helping to fill the PPE gap.
&#8220;NEW: [Soft Bank] donated 1.4 million critically needed N-95 masks to us. New York State thanks you,&#8221; the Democrat said. &#8220;We are so grateful for this PPE that protects our healthcare workers.&#8221;
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NEW: <a href="https://twitter.com/SoftBank?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SoftBank</a> donated 1.4 million critically needed N-95 masks to us.
New York State thanks you.
We are so grateful for this PPE that protects our healthcare workers.
&mdash; Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1242964457216712711?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Tech companies like Facebook and Apple have also stepped up, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/25/apple-and-facebook-face-masks-were-stockpiled-after-wildfires.html">donating</a> millions of masks to affected areas.
However, there was some noted disconnect, which Cuomo addressed during the Thursday press conference: a New York Post report published Wednesday highlighted a photo of nurses wearing garbage bags as protective gear due to an alleged shortage of supplies.
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Holy freaking hell. A nursing manager at Mt Sinai Hospital in NYC just died from coronavirus. Nurses at the hospital have been wearing trash bags because of the lack of protective gear. <a href="https://t.co/DSkHKVECmE">https://t.co/DSkHKVECmE</a> <a href="https://t.co/gl3w7ksPog">pic.twitter.com/gl3w7ksPog</a>
&mdash; Mark Elliott (@markmobility) <a href="https://twitter.com/markmobility/status/1242976342427271169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 26, 2020</a></blockquote>
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Cuomo said there might have been some &#8220;distribution&#8221; issues over the past few days, but contended there is no shortage at the moment. One of his staffers, too, said their team specifically spoke to NYC-based Mt. Sinai Hospital, and confirmed they have enough PPE.
Another piece of good news out of NY is the drop in the hospitalization rate of COVID-19 cases since Sunday.
&#8220;Evidence suggests density control plan may be working,&#8221; said Cuomo via Twitter on Wednesday. &#8220;On Sun, hospitalizations doubling every 2 days. On [Monday], hospitalizations doubling ever 3.4 days. On [Tuesday], hospitalizations doubling every 4.7 days.&#8221;
&#8220;But the virus is STILL spreading quickly,&#8221; he added. &#8220;#StayAtHome.&#8221;
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Evidence suggests density control plan may be working:
On Sun, hospitalizations doubling every 2 days On Mon, hospitalizations doubling ever 3.4 days On Tues, hospitalizations doubling every 4.7 days
But the virus is STILL spreading quickly. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StayAtHome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StayAtHome</a>
&mdash; Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) <a href="https://twitter.com/NYGovCuomo/status/1242836692534509568?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 25, 2020</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;Declining rates in hospitalisations is important because the state, as well as the rest of the country, is concerned with how the Covid-19 pandemic could impact the healthcare system as the novel virus continues to spread,&#8221; <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/coronavirus-new-york-hospital-cases-today-map-decrease-covid-19-a9425111.html">The Independent</a> underscored on Wednesday.
Moreover, Cuomo has agreed with President Donald Trump with regard to the use of drugs that have been used to treat malaria and have shown good responses in COVID-19 patients, allowing them to be used on suffering New Yorkers.
On Tuesday, Cuomo started clinical trials for promising drugs that were fast-tracked for FDA approval by the Trump administration.
&#8220;The state acquired 70,000 doses of hydroxychloroquine, 10,000 doses of zithromax and 750,000 doses of chloroquine in the last few days, according to a <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/amid-ongoing-covid-19-pandemic-governor-cuomo-accepts-recommendation-army-corps-engineers-four" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">news release</a> by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office,&#8221; <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/clinical-trials-coronavirus-treatments-begin-york/story?id=69777957">ABC News</a> reported.
&#8220;We hope for optimistic results,&#8221; the governor said Tuesday. &#8220;The president and the FDA accelerated that drug coming to New York so the hospitals will start using that drug today.&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/epidemiologist-behind-highly-cited-coronavirus-model-admits-he-was-wrong-drastically-revises-model">Epidemiologist Behind Highly-Cited Coronavirus Model Admits He Was Wrong, Drastically Revises Model</a>

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo

Cuomo: Two Pieces Of Good News Out Of NY: Hospitalization Rate Drops, PPE Need Filled

Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York has said, and repeatedly returned to the theme, that all of the lock downs and quarantines in his state will be worth it even if it saves &#8220;<a href="https://nypost.com/2020/03/20/coronavirus-in-ny-cuomo-orders-lockdown-shuts-down-non-essential-businesses/">just one life</a>.&#8221; Other Democratic governors and mayors have <a href="https://www.redstate.com/jenvanlaar/2020/03/20/l.a.-mayor-says-hell-deputize-city-bureaucrats-to-enforce-stay-at-home-order">made similar statements</a>. Last night Joe Biden tweeted, in an apparent response to Trump&#8217;s desire to re-open the economy sooner rather than later, that &#8220;no one is expendable&#8221; and &#8220;no life is worth losing to add one more point to the Dow.&#8221;
The first problem with these comments is that they are manifestly absurd. Obviously it would not be worth it to collapse the economy and consign millions to destitution just to save one life. And while it&#8217;s true that no one is expendable as an individual, it is not true that &#8220;no life is worth losing&#8221; in order to salvage the economy. Biden is trying to turn the economic concerns of those who want to end the shut downs into a quibble over points on the stock market index, but he knows better. What&#8217;s at stake here is not merely the stock market but the livelihoods of countless Americans. What he has really argued, then, is that it cannot be worth it for any individual life to be lost in order to preserve the livelihoods of many millions. That is simply ridiculous. <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/walsh-trump-is-attacked-for-comparing-the-coronavirus-to-car-accidents-his-critics-are-completely-missing-his-point">As I wrote yesterday</a>, we all believe that 35,000 dead on our roadways every year is a price worth paying so that we can drive around and get from Point A to Point B quicker. The idea that even one dead person is not worth it to preserve the entire economy is, therefore, nonsensical.
Now, it may be possible to take these statements from Cuomo, Biden, et al, in a more generous light. Perhaps they aren&#8217;t speaking literally and what they really mean is simply that life is enormously precious and great sacrifice is sometimes necessary to preserve it. Well, I&#8217;d suggest that now is not the time for vague hyperbole from our leaders, and if they mean &#8220;life is enormously precious and great sacrifice is sometimes necessary to preserve it&#8221; they should simply say so. More to the point, however, we already know that these people do not actually view human life this way. They do not think human life is, in and of itself, precious.
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Governor Cuomo just last year signed a bill into law that legalizes abortion through every stage of pregnancy. Cuomo believes in, and has helped to facilitate, the murder of fully-developed and viable infants in the womb. This is Biden&#8217;s view, too, though only recently adopted. It is clear that they do not think life is precious, they do not believe that Heaven and Earth should be moved to save one life or even a million lives (the number killed by abortion every year), and they do in fact believe that some life is expendable. To these Democrats, human life prior to birth has less than no value. It has, indeed, negative value. According to their ideology, the destruction of innocent life can sometimes be a positive good and cause for celebration.
I don&#8217;t suggest that Cuomo, Biden, or any of the rest of them are insincere in their concern for the mostly elderly people being killed by the coronavirus. I&#8217;m sure they do find the death toll quite troubling, just as any rational person would. But they are plainly insincere in their concern for human life generally. So, we cannot take their &#8220;destroy the economy to save one life&#8221; arguments literally because the literal interpretation is insane. And we cannot take the arguments broadly and non-literally because the broad and non-literal interpretation conflicts with their platforms and policies. We are left, then, with no way to take them at all. Except as lies, plain and simple.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo

WALSH: Governor Cuomo Says Dramatic Measures Are Worth It To Save ‘Just One Life.’ Then Why Did He Legalize Late-Term Abortion?

Abortion

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday said the &#8220;apex&#8221; for coronavirus spreading throughout his state could still be two to three weeks away, but sooner than he had formerly projected.
“The apex is higher than we thought and the apex is sooner than we thought,” Cuomo said at his daily press conference in New York City.
A week ago, the governor said the peak might still be 45 days or longer away.
But the Democratic governor said all efforts to stem the spread are not working as well as projected. “We’re not slowing it and it is accelerating on its own,” Cuomo said.
“New York is the canary in the coal mine. New York is going first. We have the highest and fastest rate of infection,” he said, adding that what&#8217;s occurring in New York will happen in California and other states soon.
Cuomo also said the rate of new infections in New York state is doubling about every three days. There are now more than 25,600 confirmed cases in New York and 212 deaths, the most of any state in the U.S. The governor said the state will need 140,000 hospital beds, 40,000 ICU beds and 30,000 ventilators as the virus spreads. Right now, there are 53,000 hospital beds and 3,000 ICU beds in the entire state.
“This is a critical and desperate need for ventilators,” he said, adding doctors are trying to figure out a way to use one ventilator split between two patients. “We don’t have any other options. There’s no other way for us to get these ventilators. We’ve tried everything else.”
The governor again bashed President Donald Trump, calling on him to exercise his executive power to put in place the Defense Protection Act to increase medical supply production and eliminate astronomical prices from gougers. He said the Federal Emergency Management Agency has informed him they&#8217;re sending the state 400 ventilators.
“Four hundred ventilators? I need 30,000 ventilators. You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators?” Cuomo said.
Cuomo also ripped Trump for suggesting restrictions by governors to keep people in isolation.
“I understand what the president is saying that this is unsustainable that we close down the economy and we continue to spend money. There is no doubt about that,” Cuomo said. “But if you ask the American people to choose between public health and the economy then it’s no contest. No American is going to say accelerate the economy at the cost of human life. &#8230; You can do both but not in a clumsy, ham-handed way. ‘Well we’ll just sacrifice old people, they’re old people anyway and the old get left behind.’ What is this? Some modern Darwinian theory of natural selection? You can’t keep up so the band is going to leave you behind?”
Cuomo also said no one is &#8220;expendable.&#8221;
“My mother is not expendable and your mother is not expendable and our brothers and sisters are not expendable and we’re not going to accept a premise that human life is disposable and we’re not going to put a dollar figure on human life,” he said.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Tours Temporary FEMA Hospital Being Setup At Javits Convention Center

Gov. Cuomo: ‘Apex’ Of Coronavirus Outbreak Could Come In 14-21 Days, Sooner Than Projected

On Sunday, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo offered an update on the state’s efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic.
The governor began by addressing the elephant in the room – hospital capacity as it relates to the number of COVID-19 cases.
“As of now, the numbers are continuing to increase. What we’re working very hard to do is to keep the rate of increase of the spread of the disease to a level that we can manage it in our hospital system,” Cuomo said. “We have 53,000 hospital beds available right now. The curve suggests we could need 110,000 hospital beds, and that is an obvious problem, and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re dealing with.”
After expressing his disagreement with the way things are currently moving as it pertains to various states bidding for medical gear and equipment, and suggesting that the federal government take the lead in that area, Cuomo spoke about the construction of “temporary” hospitals.
“I&#8217;m requesting today from the federal government that the Army Corps immediately proceed to erect temporary hospitals. I went out yesterday, I surveyed the sites. There are several good options that give us regional coverage,” he stated.
Among the places that could potentially be used are SUNY Stony Brook and Old Westbury, which are on Long Island, as well as the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, and Westchester County Center.
Cuomo said that the state <a href="https://suffolktimes.timesreview.com/2020/03/cuomo-army-corps-looking-to-build-field-hospital-at-suny-stony-brook-masks-headed-to-li/">has asked</a> “FEMA to come in and erect four federal hospitals at the Javits Center.” He added that FEMA hospitals are different than the temporary setups from the Army Corps of Engineers because they “come with staff and with supplies.”
Cuomo then blasted New Yorkers who don’t appear to be taking the threat of COVID-19 seriously:
<blockquote>I was in New York City yesterday. It was a pretty day. There is a density level in New York City that is wholly inappropriate. You would think there was nothing going on in parts of New York City. You would think it was just a bright, sunny Saturday. I don&#8217;t know what I&#8217;m saying that people don&#8217;t get.
I&#8217;m normally accused of being overly blunt and direct – and I [take] that, it&#8217;s true. I don&#8217;t know what they&#8217;re not understanding. This is not life as usual. None of this is life is usual. And this kind of density – we talk about social distancing – I was in these parks, you would not know that anything was going on. This is just a mistake. It&#8217;s a mistake. It&#8217;s insensitive, it’s arrogant, it’s self-destructive, it’s disrespectful to other people, and it has to stop, and it has to stop now. This is not a joke, and I am not kidding.</blockquote>
The governor then said that he has been in contact with city officials, including the mayor, and has told them that they need to develop a “plan to correct this situation.”
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COVID-19, which originated in China’s Hubei province, has infected nearly 330,000 people worldwide, and led to more than 14,300 deaths, <a href="https://www.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6">according to data</a> from Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) Global Cases map. 97,846 people have recovered.
New York, which has become a COVID-19 hotspot in the United States, has had 15,777 cases and 114 deaths as of publication, according to the CSSE data.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fda-greenlights-accelerated-covid-19-test-results-within-hours-rather-than-days">FDA Greenlights Accelerated COVID-19 Test: ‘Results Within Hours Rather Than Days’</a>

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