On the heels of President Donald Trump advising national COVID-19 guideline changes, the governor of New York announced a need to extend restrictions in state, which has lost more than 12,000 people to the virus.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Thursday morning that the New York shutdown that started last month will continue through May 15. The effort, called New York on PAUSE, will be implemented with other surrounding states like New Jersey.
Cuomo announced Thursday that another 606 COVID-19 deaths Thursday, bringing the state’s fatality toll above 12,000.
“Non-essential workers must continue to stay home,” he tweeted. “Social distancing rules remain in place. We must STAY THE COURSE.”
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have continued to see startling deaths and infection rates despite the staunch social distancing rules put in place to mitigate the fast-spreading coronavirus. To help prevent more lives from being lost due to the virus, Cuomo and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, whose state death toll topped 3,000 Wednesday, have issued executive orders requiring people to cover their mouths and noses in public when they can't maintain a 6-foot distance, according to NBC 4 in New York.
Cuomo expanded the order Thursday to apply to public transportation and for-hire vehicles. The new rules, which apply to anyone age 2 and older, take effect Friday night. Merchants are urged to enforce them.
"I can't put a mask on 17 million people," Cuomo said Thursday. "But 17 million people will do it. What they have done has worked, and what they will do will bring this state −and this nation −forward."
Later today, the president is slated to announce the easing of coronavirus relief measures for some states, behind GOP pressure growing to reopen the nation’s economy. National stay-at-home orders have been in place for weeks. As those guidelines have been followed, the administration has reported that the spread of the virus is flattening, despite the death toll moving beyond 27,000 people this week.
“We have to learn to live with this,” said Adam Brandon, president of FreedomWorks, which is holding weekly virtual town halls with members of Congress, igniting an activist base of thousands of supporters across the nation to back up the effort.
Opponents of the reopening echo Cuomo’s stance of staying the course. Some Democrats warn that rushing to dispel the public health guidelines could be chaotic and deadly.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a stark warning for Americans to “ignore the lies" and "listen to scientists and other respected professionals” to protect themselves and loved ones.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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