Even as he marked new steps in reopening New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said he didn’t “believe this economy just bounces back” and urged the state to rebuild better after the nation’s worst outbreak of COVID-19.
“I don’t believe it’s going to be enough just to go back to where the economy was,” Cuomo told reporters, citing many small businesses shutting permanently, corporations laying off employees, and people who won’t want to return to their workplaces.
“We’re going to need to stimulate that economy” he said. “And government has a role to play in that. It always has.”
Cuomo spoke at Jones Beach on Long Island, a popular spot for New Yorkers that’s open at half capacity for the Memorial Day weekend, to underscore progress made since the worst of the outbreak in April.
More than 700 people died of Covid-19 daily for eight days during that stretch. Cuomo said on Sunday another 109 people had died in the past day. That’s up slightly from the 84 reported Saturday, the first day deaths had dropped below 100 since March 24.
Cuomo cited other benchmarks to reopening: the seven-county mid-Hudson area just north of New York City remains on track to reopen on Tuesday, and Long Island, hard-hit by the virus, on Wednesday.
All other regions have begun reopening except New York City, which remains officially on lockdown until May 28. Cuomo didn’t mention a timetable for the city, nor did he take up houses of worship: on Friday, President Donald Trump demanded that governors allow them to open this weekend -- and said he would otherwise force them to do so.
Cuomo did encourage sports teams to begin spring training and said veterinarian practices could begin opening on Tuesday.
He said the arc of the virus remains largely positive: total hospitalization and intubations to ventilators all continue to drop, though a three-day average of new hospitalizations ticked up slightly.
On Sunday the state reported 1,589 new coronavirus cases, for a total of 361,515.
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