Gov. Andrew Cuomo gives a speech at the Sustainable Development Capital Region Conference, November 29, 2016. Photo courtesy of HUD.
The Wall Street Journal editorial board rips into New York Governor Andrew Cuomo over his reveling in the misfortunate of others, reminding readers that Cuomo “is responsible for the single worst public-policy mistake of this pandemic.” They write (abridged):
Opening up bars to regular business may have been a mistake, and now Florida and Texas are shutting them down or limiting the number of patrons.
The flare-ups should cause people to be more cautious, but they don’t justify the economic and public-health damage of strict new state-wide lockdowns.
As for chutzpah, the prize goes to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who reveled in the misery of others on Friday: “Oh, I say to them all, look at the numbers. You played politics with this virus and you lost.
Mr. Cuomo is responsible for the single worst public-policy mistake of this pandemic: His administration’s order requiring nursing homes to accept Covid-19 patients from hospitals. That bad judgment let the virus rampage through institutions with the most vulnerable populations. Florida has some 4,000 homes for assisted senior living but locked down those facilities and it tests every worker at those institutions every two weeks.
The Statista website, which tracks Covid deaths, reports that as of June 26 New Jersey (167) and New York (161) had far and away the most virus deaths in the country per 100,000 people. Arizona had 21, Florida only 15, and Texas eight.
Perhaps Mr. Cuomo is touting outbreaks elsewhere because he hopes they will help people forget his record. He ought to be thanking everyone, in Washington and other states, who helped New York in its hour of desperate need.
