Coronavirus Update: Cuomo Blasts 'Reckless' Spring Breakers Seen Partying In Florida
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Stunned by video of college kids partying during spring break in Florida, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday called on New York's young people to understand the risks of the coronavirus, saying it's a "myth" that they can't get the disease.
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Videos have circulated showing thousands of college kids partying in Miami Beach like it's spring break 2019 –- not 2020 –- when all across the country extraordinary measures are being taken to stop the spread of the deadly virus.
"If I get corona, I get corona. At the end of the day, I'm not going to let it stop me from partying," Brady Sluder of Ohio recently told reporters.
"We're going to enjoy ourselves. We're having day parties all day," added Ni Smith of New Orleans.
Don't be reckless with your life — and especially don't be reckless with other people's lives.#StayAtHome #FlattenTheCurve pic.twitter.com/nm2hrPBkfo
— Archive: Governor Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) March 19, 2020
The scenes of revelry were astonishing -- drinking, smoking, dancing -- even though the beaches are closed. Nobody was astonished more than Gov. Cuomo, CBS2's Marcia Kramer reported.
"These pictures of young people on beaches, these videos of young people saying, 'This is my spring break, I'm out to party, this is my time to party,' this is so unintelligent and reckless I can't even begin to express it," Cuomo said at his daily media briefing.
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Recognizing that the number of young people getting the virus and being hospitalized is now much higher than originally thought, Cuomo brought along his youngest daughter, Michaela Kennedy-Cuomo, a Brown University senior who canceled her spring break plans, to dramatize the situation.
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He had her reiterate the advice he gave all three of his daughters when making decisions.
"Risk-reward," Kennedy-Cuomo said.
"What these people are doing is the risk does not justify the reward. They're putting themselves at risk. Young people can get coronavirus. That's one of the other myths. Young people do get it and young people can transfer it and you can wind up infecting someone and possibly killing someone," Cuomo added.
The governor praised his daughter for making the right decision to cancel her trip and promised her a big graduation party sometime in the future once the threat has passed.