Cuomo Warns Against Gatherings as COVID Surges; Wants More Hospital Staff

By: Amy Furr/Edited by: TJV News

New York is preparing to recruit retired doctors and nurses to staff hospitals dealing with a surge in coronavirus cases, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Monday.

The governor called it a “new phase in the war against COVID [Chinese coronavirus],” according to the New York Post, adding that daily hospitalizations across the state are almost quadruple what they were in June.

Cuomo said every hospital in New York must compile a list of retired doctors and nurses they can call on because of staffing problems in some areas.

“I am very worried about staff shortages. I’m more concerned about the staff shortage than I am the [number of hospital] beds. We can build beds. We can’t create more staff. And the staff is starting tired,” he explained.

In a tweet Monday morning, the governor shared an infographic titled Initiate Emergency Hospital Procedures, with the first point reading, “Staff shortage: identify retired nurses and doctors NOW”:

In a subsequent post, Cuomo told residents to stop attending small gatherings immediately.

“Hospitalizations are climbing — statewide. What can you do? Cut out the small gatherings. Now. 65% of all cases are traced to small gatherings. Gov’t can’t enforce who’s in your living room. But you can,” he wrote.

While he acknowledged that part of it is the nature of the holiday season, he also said people are gravitating toward small gatherings due to “reduced social options.”

“I can’t go to the bar and hang out. I can’t go to a restaurant and hang out. I can’t go to the movie theater and hang out. Come over to my house, and we’ll hang out. It’s just an adaptation of social behavior to the circumstance,” Cuomo said.

“We have a rule in effect, no more than ten at an event,” Cuomo said, defending his mandate by pointing to other states that have similar rules in effect.

“People say, ‘Oh I can’t believe the New York rule, no more than ten.’ Many states have a rule of no more than ten,” he said, adding that Kentucky is instituting a rule of no more than eight.

While Cuomo has publicly asked local governments to enforce his edicts, he admitted that the government does not have the ability to monitor the number of people an individual invites into his or her dwelling.

“This is not government being overly dramatic. These are just facts,” Cuomo continued, arguing that his emphasis on limiting private gatherings is supported by “President Trump’s people and Joe Biden’s people.” He also cited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines, which advised Americans to gather with “no more than your household” for Thanksgiving.

“So whose politics are you playing if Donald Trump says the CDC mandates it and Joe Biden’s advisers say it’s smart?” he asked.

“Whose politics? Your own politics? You’re waving the political flag. Whose flag are you waving? It’s agreed to by both. It’s a fact of being smart, and luckily most of us are smart,” he continued.

 (www.Breitbart.com)