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Coronavirus Updates: Cuomo Excoriates Federal Government Response To Pandemic

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Elizabeth Kim

and

Karen Yi

Published Aug 3, 2020

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Kids watch as New Yorkers enjoy swimming at the Astoria Park pool which reopened today as Covid-19 restrictions continue to be eased in New York City.

 

Andrew Walker/Shutterstock

By

Elizabeth Kim

and

Karen Yi

Published Aug 3, 2020

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This is our daily update of breaking COVID-19 news for Monday, August 3rd, 2020. Previous daily updates can be found here, and up-to-date statistics are here.

New York City is in Phase 4 of reopening now, which includes zoos, botanical gardens, and professional sports (without fans). A look at preparing for the spread of coronavirus is here, and if you have lingering questions about the virus, here is our regularly updated coronavirus FAQ. Here are some local and state hotlines for more information: NYC: 311; NY State Hotline: 888-364-3065; NJ State Hotline: 800-222-1222.

Here's the latest:

3:45 p.m. Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday went on another tirade against President Donald Trump and the federal government for its handling of the pandemic, calling it the "worst government blunder" in modern history.

During a press briefing in New York City, Cuomo angrily rattled off a list of false statements and poor decisions that Trump and various White House officials made over the course of the crisis that underplayed the severity of the disease and resulted in many states failing to prepare for outbreaks.

"It was a mistake to say 'It's just the flu,'" he said. "It was a mistake to say 'It's gone by Easter.'"

Cuomo also upbraided federal officials for failing to learn lessons from New York's experience, a mistake that has been attributed by some to a political strategy that bet heavily on the virus only affecting Democratic states that have more densely populated cities.

"The truth is COVID is serious, it is deadly serious," Cuomo said. "It's not deadly serious for blue states only. COVID kills Republicans and COVID affects red states."

He added: "This was not a political issue and it shouldn't have been politicized. This is public health, that's what this was, and it should have never been turned into a political symbol which is what this president did."

Although the governor has frequently criticized Trump on his response to the virus, he sounded especially upset on Monday. But as one Politico reporter noted, the remarks come at a critical juncture for Cuomo.

Earlier in the day, the state legislature kicked off the first of two hearings on Cuomo's own handling of the crisis as it pertained to nursing home residents. More than 6,000 New Yorkers have died from coronavirus in nursing homes, a grim statistic that some have said could have been avoided had the state not allowed recovering COVID-19 patients to be admitted back to those facilities. State health officials have defended the state's policies and last month issued a report concluding that the spread of the virus was driven by employees and visitors.

Cuomo, who now routinely devotes a portion of his press conferences to criticizing local government officials, is also expected to issue a decision on the reopening of schools this week. The biggest question will be on how state officials approach New York City, which would be the largest school district in the country to hold some in-person classes and has pledged not to reopen classrooms if the positivity rate in the city goes above 3%.

On top of all that, the federal stimulus package remains at an impasse, with the prospect of significant funding for state and local governments becoming still uncertain. New York state is facing a $14 budget hole as a result of the pandemic.

In recent days, Cuomo has warned of painful cuts in store for New Yorkers, even as he resists a proposal by progressives to tax the state's billionaires.

Painting a dire situation, he has said the lack of federal funding would result in higher property taxes, as well as increased subway and railroad fares.

"I'm not going to let Washington off the hook," he said Monday. "They have to deliver."

Concerned Over Spike In Cases, NJ Lowers Indoor Gathering Capacity To 25

2:45 p.m. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on Monday announced that indoor gatherings can no longer exceed 25 people.

Previously, indoor gatherings were capped at 25 percent of capacity or a maximum of 100 people, whichever is less. The new restrictions do not apply to weddings, funerals and religious and political activities.

“We cannot be any clearer that large indoor gatherings, they just are not safe,” Murphy said at his briefing.

Murphy also said he would begin mandating all students wear face masks anytime they are inside school buildings.

The change on indoor gathering limits, which comes as the state’s transmission rate for COVID-19 continues to rise, marks the first time Murphy has rolled back one of his reopening measures. The governor previously halted plans to reopen indoor dining in June before restaurants were able to reopen. 

Murphy has cited indoor parties as contributing to part of the rise in cases. On Monday, he said AirBnb suspended 35 listings that were the frequent site of house parties after receiving complaints.

That includes teen house parties in Middletown that caused 60 cases and lifeguard social gatherings that led to three dozen cases on Long Beach Island. A massive mansion party was also broken up by police in Jackson but it is not clear yet how many cases, if any, resulted from the gathering.

“To be clear, this tightening caps indoor house parties at 25 people, period,” Murphy said. “Everyone needs to get it together folks and fast, this is not yet past us.”

Outdoor gatherings remain capped at 500 people. The state's rate of transmission based on a 7-day average is currently 1.48, nearly double what it was a month ago and comparable to rates in early April during the peak in hospitalizations. 

In the last 24 hours, however, New Jersey recorded 264 new cases, substantially lower than the numbers it reported last week. State Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli says 34 percent of patients in intensive care are on ventilators, the lowest rate to date. 

U.S. Hits Monthly High In New Cases As White House Expert Says Some Americans Should Wear Masks At Home

Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coordinator for the country's coronavirus response, on Sunday urged Americans to wear masks and socially distance, saying that the pandemic had become "extraordinarily widespread."

“I want to be very clear: What we’re seeing today is different from March and April,” Birx said on CNN.

In one of the starkest warnings to date, she said people who are part of multi-generational households should even consider wearing mask at home to protect older family members who may have comorbidities.

"This epidemic right now is different," she said. "It’s more widespread and it’s rural and urban."

Meanwhile, Admiral Brett Giroir, the assistant secretary for health, said on NBC that states needed to achieve 85 or 90 percent of individuals wearing a mask and avoiding crowds.

That, he said, would “you the same outcome as a complete shutdown.”

However, he stopped short of recommending a national mask mandate, a policy that some, including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo have pleaded President Donald Trump to issue to minimize further infections and deaths.

The United States ended the month of July with more than 1.9 million new coronavirus cases, more than double the tally of any prior month, according to tracking data from Johns Hopkins University as well as the New York Times.

As of Monday, there have been nearly 4.67 million confirmed infections. More than 154,000 people in the country have died from the virus.

Although White House experts like Birx have have been increasingly calling attention to the seriousness of the outbreaks, it is still not clear how the country will fight the pandemic amid uneven responses from states and prolonged delays in testing. Some Republican governors have been reluctant to call for further shutdowns. Last week, Birx personally visited Tennessee and recommended closing bars and limiting indoor seating, but the idea was promptly shot down by Republican Governor Bill Lee.

Even in the Northeast, which have some of the lowest transmission rates, concerns are now growing over an uptick in cases in New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts. New York's positivity rate has hovered around 1 percent in recent weeks but Governor Cuomo has said that travelers from other states could cause the level of transmissions to rise.

President Trump on Monday continued to falsely assert that the country's surge in cases is due to expanded testing. Experts have dismissed this argument, pointing to hospitals being overwhelmed in places like Florida and Texas.

Birx herself has come under criticism for her strategy on the pandemic. Last month, the New York Times reported on the president's failed approach to the crisis and cited Birx's "upbeat" messages and reliance on models that ultimately failed to account for the fast reopenings in many states.

In an interview on ABC on Sunday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, said she does not have confidence in Birx. “I think the president is spreading disinformation about the virus, and she is his appointee,” Pelosi said in response to a question from ABC News’s Martha Raddatz. “So I don’t have confidence there, no.”

According to Politico, Pelosi was even more blunt in closed door meeting between herself and White House officials, reportedly saying, “Deborah Birx is the worst. Wow, what horrible hands you’re in.”

In a tweet, Trump derided Pelosi as "crazy" and also faulted Birx for her comments.

"In order to counter Nancy, Deborah took the bait & hit us. Pathetic!," he wrote. He also again referred to the coronavirus as the "China virus," a racist and xenophobic term he has used to cast blame on China, where the outbreaks first began.

Asked about Pelosi's comments on CNN, Birx said she had "tremendous respect for the speaker, but also defended her performance and said she has “never been called Pollyannaish or nonscientific or non-data driven.”

Tagged

covid-19 updates

coronavirus

Elizabeth Kim

Elizabeth Kim is a reporter on the People and Power desk who covers mayoral power. She previously covered the pandemic, housing, redevelopment and public spaces. A native of Queens, she speaks fluent Mandarin. Got a tip? Email [email protected]

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Karen Yi

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Karen Yi covers homelessness and poverty. She joined the WNYC and Gothamist newsroom in 2020. Before that, Karen covered Newark for the Star-Ledger and spent almost a decade working for newspapers in New Jersey and Florida. She grew up in Miami and has a dog named Cashew. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-589-1460.

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