New York Governor Andrew Cuomo offered harsh criticism for protesters rallying against the state’s stay-at-home order that has shuttered New York City.
In a press conference on Wednesday, a reporter told Cuomo that there were protesters gathered outside the statehouse in Albany who argued that “the cure can’t be worse than the illness itself.”
Cuomo responded, “The illness is death, how can the cure be worse than the illness when the illness is potential death.” He continued, “It doesn’t equal death — economic hardship — yes, very bad, not death.”
Cuomo added, “And not death of someone else, see that’s what we have to factor into this equation — yeah, it’s your life, do whatever you want but you’re now responsible for my life, you have a responsibility to me, it’s not just about you.”
The governor also addressed criticism of economic fallout, saying, “I understand the economic hardship, we all feel it. The question is what do you do about it? And do you put public health at risk? And do you drive up the number of deaths?”
Asked if there is a “fundamental right to work”, Cuomo responded, “You want to go to work? Go take a job as an essential worker, do it tomorrow … so now you can go to work and you can be an essential worker and you’re not going to kill anyone.”
Cuomo has been giving press briefings at an almost daily pace as his state has become the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the United States. That daily visibility has caused both a rift and a bond with President Donald Trump, who said on Monday that Cuomo would visit the White House.
While the president some other governors have pushed for a quick re-opening of states, Cuomo has said that he will open New York regionally, saying the “North Country has a totally different situation than New York City.”