Parts Of New York Poised To Reopen Friday, But They Must 'Follow The Data,' Cuomo Says
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - Thursday marked day 75 since New York had its first coronavirus case, Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"Feels like a lifetime," the governor said.
Cuomo said the total number of hospitalizations and intubations are down, and number of new cases is "much, much better than it was."
There were still 157 additional coronavirus-related deaths.
"We're basically right back to where we were before we started this horrific situation," Cuomo said.
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Turning his attention to reopening, the governor said decisions must be made "intelligently" and "in a calibrated way."
"Follow the data, follow the science, follow the facts, follow the metrics," he said.
WATCH: Gov. Andrew Cuomo Gives Daily Coronavirus Briefing
Cuomo said a number of regions are poised to reopen tomorrow, and that local governments are about to have a big responsibility confronting the situation going forward. He urged them to monitor key metrics daily, make sure businesses were complying with social distancing, monitor individual compliance, and react immediately if they see any change in the data.
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The governor again called on Washington to provide relief funding to state and local governments. He applauded a relief bill that the House passed which included a restoration of the State and Local Tax - or SALT - deduction. He said restoring the SALT deduction would be one of the best thing that could happen to the state in terms of recovery.
Cuomo said there were now 110 cases statewide of a mysterious illness in children that scientists believe is related to COVID-19. The governor said 16 other states are investigating cases, along with six European countries.
"Parents should beware and parents should be informed of this," he said.
Called pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome, the symptoms include persistent fever, rash, abdominal pain or vomiting. Cuomo said cases were in young people less than a year old to 21.