NEW YORK —
Exactly 100 days since the first coronavirus case appeared in New York State, New York City has been cleared to begin Phase 1 of reopening, signaling the first time the entire state has been open since the pandemic began.
Governor Andrew Cuomo Monday said how proud and thankful he was to New Yorkers for doing what was asked of them to stop the spread of COVID-19 so quickly. The state’s numbers have been going down on a consistent basis, whereas other states have seen a spike in cases in recent weeks. The governor said 35,000 tests per day will be administered each day in NYC, so if any spike happens, the state will be able to react quickly.
The number of positive cases of COVID-19 continues to fall. On Sunday, of 58,054 tests administered throughout the state, only 1.2% of them came back positive. In the Western New York region, the rate of positive tests has decreased to 2%, as opposed to four weeks ago when 7% of those tested were positive. Nine weeks ago was the peak of positive test results for the region, 30% of all tests in the region came back positive, though only those showing symptoms or easily exposed were eligible to be tested at that time.
In response to the protests ongoing throughout the state and the nation, the governor proposed four cornerstones to police reform in the state, called the “Say Their Name” agenda. The biggest piece of this would repeal 50-a, which would make disciplinary records of law enforcement officers public records.
Another aspect of the legislative agenda is to ban the use of chokeholds by police, which the Buffalo Police Department has already done. Other parts of the plan include making false race-based 911 calls a hate crime, as well as making the Attorney General act as an independent prosecutor in "police murders."
Cuomo called on legislators to seize the moment to pass sweeping reforms to end systemic inequalities in areas like criminal justice, healthcare, housing and education.
Cuomo continued to urge people who had protested to get tested for COVID-19. He continued to say that police officers should be wearing masks. The state also has testing sites set up that prioritizes tests for essential workers.
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