NY Times piece argues ‘infighting’ between Cuomo and De Blasio contributed to NY’s slow COVID response

A New York Occasions piece printed Thursday argued that “infighting” between the New York Metropolis’s Democratic governor and mayor contributed to the town’s gradual COVID-19 response. 

The article maintained that Mayor Invoice de Blasio and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo continuously bumped heads all through the pandemic.

“As Mr. de Blasio tried to chart a course, Mr. Cuomo, who had lengthy had an acrimonious relationship with the mayor, appeared to relish any alternative to indicate who held extra energy,” the piece argued. 

ANDREW CUOMO CONSIDERING RUN AGAINST HOCHUL: REPORT

Writers Joseph Goldstein and Sharron Otterman contended that New Yorkers felt “caught within the center.” The authors criticized communication between de Blasio and public well being officers as nicely, and famous that by the point de Blasio acknowledged simply how contagious the virus was, it was too late, and the town would quickly be generally known as the epicenter of the coronavirus.  

New York Metropolis grew to become the COVID-19 epicenter very early on within the pandemic, with the primary wave killing almost 22,000 New Yorkers, in line with the Occasions.  

CUOMO: NOT SURE IF CLOSING ALL BUSINESSES KEEPING EVERYONE HOME WAS ‘THE BEST PUBLIC HEALTH STRATEGY’

The evaluation of the town’s pandemic response, headlined “What New York Obtained Incorrect In regards to the Pandemic, and What It Obtained Proper,” additionally argued that shutdowns and mandates labored however, total the town was gradual to react to COVID unfold. 

Individuals queue for a coronavirus illness (COVID-19) check at a popup COVID-19 testing web site because the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to unfold in Manhattan, New York Metropolis, U.S., December 27, 2021. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
(REUTERS/Jeenah Moon)

Goldstein and Otterman additionally reported that “safety-net” hospitals wanted extra help and sources. These hospitals get predominately Black and Hispanic sufferers and get much less funding than hospitals in Manhattan, in line with the report. 

The writers criticized the town’s vaccine rollout and stated well being officers wished they’d advised New Yorkers to masks up sooner, however did not as a result of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) first stated “masks did not assist.”

The CDC has confronted scrutiny from either side of the aisle on their COVID messaging. Journalists from CNN, MSNBC and CBS have all known as the CDC’s recommendation complicated, notably regarding the omicron surge and testing scarcity. 

Cuomo stepped down as governor in August 2021 after a number of girls accused him of sexual misconduct. The previous governor was additionally beneath excessive scrutiny after the town was found to have undercounted hundreds of nursing residence deaths in the course of the pandemic. 

New York comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli launched an audit Wednesday that exposed Cuomo’s administration didn’t rely 4,100 nursing residence deaths. The well being division undercounted nursing residence deaths by as a lot as 50%, the audit discovered.  

CNN’s former primetime anchor Chris Cuomo aided his brother in his response to the sexual misconduct allegations, which the community first admitted was “inappropriate.” Chris Cuomo additionally used his sources within the media to trace down leads on different accusers for his brother, an investigation discovered. 

CNN’s Chris Cuomo carried out prop comedy along with his brother New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo throughout a extensively panned section in 2020. 
(CNN)

CNN ultimately fired Chris Cuomo, and the resignations of now former-CNN president Jeff Zucker and govt Allison Gollust adopted, as the inner investigation revealed Zucker didn’t disclose his “consensual” relationship along with her.