NEW YORK (TURKISH JOURNAL) – By Janet Ekstract – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stressed that reopening New York and the tri-state area depends on one well coordinated plan that all the governors can agree on. He said: “First and foremost, we need coordination with New Jersey and Connecticut because that’s where our workforce comes from. Cuomo emphasized: “We have to have one plan at the end of the day. He used the New York school district as an example when he said: “You can’t have 700 school districts in this situation, making their own decisions about opening or closing schools.
On reopening the city, the governor said: “It’s a delicate balance and remember it has never been done before.” He reiterated what he has repeatedly said in all his briefings that “nobody really knows what will happen” in the immediate future as long as this pandemic is rampant.
Cuomo said there are several major factors to consider when deciding to reopen the economy. In his hypothetical explanation on how New York might start reopening – Cuomo explained: “We are easing isolation, increasing economic activity that will happen through a recalibration of our essential workers. He highlighted that there are “no answers” to what will happen on reopening.The governor said the term in getting started is to “recalibrate.” That involves recalibrating the “essential worker” economy, apply more testing and take precautions as you are calibrating and reopening the economy.” Cuomo commented that “The meter we watch is the infection rate, the daily hospitalization rate. Open the valve slowly, advised by experts. If you see the infection rate going up then you know you’ve opened a valve too fast,”
The governor made it clear that any reopening plan must be designed by experts not politicians. The plan also must consider public health experts not just economic experts. In his view, the plan would be a “regional design” – the larger the geographic region the better, Cuomo said. Coordination is key and a collaborative effort is essential, the governor said. in order to get transportation matched to business because as Cuomo explained, if the trains aren’t running, people can’t get to work.
New York’s governor once again reiterated just how crucial federal support is to states getting up and running – especially New York as it’s the hub of the American economy. Cuomo said the type of support must be “smart federal support that “attends to the need” and to that end, testing will be key. The governor reemphasized “we test more than other countries and that’s still not enough, we need to do more.”
The governor reminded everybody that in doing all this, “we have to remember to stay the course.” Cuomo announced that he will be meeting with governors from neighboring states such as New Jersey, Delaware, Connecticut, Maryland, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. He added: “To the extent that we can work with all these states, I want to.”
The final question the governor asked: “When is it over?’ He said: “I want to make sure we did everything we could to the best of our ability.” Cuomo said he’s constantly asked this question and that “its not going to be and we flick a switch and everybody gets out of their car and everybody hugs each other.” He said that there is no short term point to declare ‘it’s over,’ because that would be premature. Currently, Cuomo said the good news is that “we are controlling the spread,” the worst is over. He reemphasized that having control of the spread is “an accomplishment.” Cuomo said he will be indebted to all the first responders and healthcare workers for the rest of his life.
The governor said the way to know when ‘it’s over’ is when there is a definite anti-viral medication that can help people get through the disease as well as a vaccine. When you have the vaccine, he said “that’s when it’s over.” Cuomo stressed between now and then we should feel more confident because “we have accomplished a lot.” He reminded everyone that it’s the first responders that have been “keeping us going, they are extraordinary and putting their lives at risk.”
