Cuomo touts N.Y.'s low coronavirus rate, but says skipping Thanksgiving the smart move
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo touted New York’s ability to keep coronavirus in check Wednesday as cases surge across the country — but warned against gathering for Thanksgiving this year.
The governor urged caution as the holiday season approaches and travel plans are made, saying even small gatherings could pose a problem.
“My personal advice is, you don’t have family gatherings – even for Thanksgiving,” the governor said as he listed off a number of smaller gatherings that have led to recent outbreaks across the state.
“My personal advice is the best way to say ‘I love you,’ this Thanksgiving, the best way to say ‘I’m thankful for you,’ is to say, ‘I love you so much, I’m so thankful for you, that I don’t want to endanger you, and I don’t want to endanger our family and I don’t want to endanger our friends. So we’ll celebrate virtually,’" he added. "But that is my personal opinion.”
The warning comes as New York’s COVID-19 positivity rate of 1.39% is one of the lowest in the nation, second only to Maine, which has a positivity rate of 0.77%, according to John Hopkins University.
South Dakota currently tops the list with a 43% positivity rate followed by Idaho at 34%.
More than 40 states are currently on New York’s travel advisory, which mandates visitors quarantine for two weeks after entering the Empire State from anywhere with high COVID-19 case numbers.
Neighboring states, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Connecticut, have all met the metrics but are not subject to the rules as Cuomo admitted it would be impossible to enforce.
“Factually and legally, New Yorkers can travel wherever they want. People can come into this state, but you have to live within the quarantine policy,” Cuomo said. “My personal advice is based on the fact that more and more, we’re seeing spread from small gatherings. The problem, at one time, was large gatherings: bars, restaurants, right? And we had significant enforcement efforts on that. We’re now getting it from small gatherings.”
Another 15 New Yorkers died from the virus on Tuesday, bringing the state total to 25,773. In all, 1,085 people are currently hospitalized in the state due to the virus.
New York’s overall positive test rate for Tuesday was 1.5%, down from 1.78% a day earlier, Cuomo said.
In microcluster areas with recent spikes in cases, like those in Brooklyn and Queens where the state tightened regulations, the rate was 3.8%.
The governor loosened some restrictions in upstate Orange County and granted local governments the power to set mask-wearing mandates for schools, something the state refrained from doing when allowing schools to reopen for the fall.
No changes were made to the restrictions in place in southern Brooklyn, a “red zone” where schools and nonessential businesses remain shuttered.
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