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UPDATE @ 1:00 PM: NEW YORK – After New York State hit a benchmark vaccination rate of 70 percent, Governor Andrew Cuomo Tuesday lifted most pandemic related restrictions.
Effective immediately, cleaning and disinfection, social distancing, health screenings, and contract tracing will be lifted for retail, food services, offices, gyms, amusement parks, barbershops and hair salons, among others.
Although in most settings mandates are lifted, Cuomo acknowledged that national mandates such as those for healthcare workers are still in effect.
COVID-19 health protocols will also still be in place for large-scale event venues, schools pre-k to 12th grade, public transit, homeless shelters, correctional facilities and nursing homes.
Unvaccinated people will still be required to keep a social distance of six-feet and wear a face mask.
Speaking at One World Trade Center, the Governor drew comparisons on how New York dealt with 9/11 along with COVID stating that the state is targeted but always builds back better.
“This is a momentous day, and we deserve it,” Cuomo said. “We will remember where we were, and where we’re doing. If you had said to us on Day 1, that we were going to be capable of the accomplishment we have reached, no one would have believed you.”
“20 million vaccines — more per capita than any big state in the country,” Cuomo furthered. “Congratulations to New Yorkers. We did it.”
The governor announced that there will be fireworks all across the state of New York Tuesday to honor the essential workers.
ORIGINAL @ 11:00 AM: NEW YORK – New York’s pandemic restrictions will likely be lifted soon after the state reached a big vaccination benchmark.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting that the State of New York reached its goal of a 70 percent one-dose vaccination rate amongst those 18 and over.
Governor Andrew Cuomo previously announced that when the one-dose vaccine rate hits 70 percent, he will lift the remaining COVID restrictions statewide.
Cuomo is slated to hold a reopening announcement at 12:15 Tuesday in New York City.
While the 70 percent benchmark is one President Biden hoped the country would hit by July 4, Cuomo says New York still has work to do.
The governor explained Monday his new effort to target individual zip codes in order to increase low vaccination rates.
“And if you look at the bottom 10 percent, that are below 38 percent, okay, and the vaccination rate is 69 percent,” says Cuomo.
Chautauqua County has a vaccination rate of 56.5 percent while Cattaraugus County has 50.6 percent of those 18 or older with at least one dose of a vaccine.
The governor also highlighted the low vaccination rate of 12 to 17 year-olds as a target area.
“Why? Because they’re 12 to 17. That’s why,” explains Cuomo. “Because they are young and they are immune from everything. Also remember when COVID started, it was all about older people. We weren’t as focused on younger people, the mortality rate was not as high among young people. They weren’t even eligible for the vaccine early on. Remember, so they are a little bit late to the vaccine race.”
To encourage young people to get the vaccine, New York State will host a raffle every week for a full-ride to a state school.
“10 winners win a full four-year scholarship, room and board, to a state school. That’s about a hundred thousand dollars value,” says Cuomo. “So 12- to 17-year-old. You want to go to college? You’re worried about how you’re going to pay? Get a vaccine. It’s good for you to get a vaccine anyway and you’re in the running.”
Cuomo’s push to reach an even higher vaccination rate coincides with the state’s reopening and return to normalcy.
This return begins with the State Fair opening at 100 percent occupancy. It is expected to begin August 20 and run until September 6.
WNY News Now’s Mario Cosentino contributed to this report.
Never Forget, Cuomo put Infected Covid Patients KNOWINGLY into nursing homes, then wrote a book, (in which case he got millions for), saying what an awesome job he did.
He didn’t let us visit our loved ones, or have a funeral for those that passed.
Oh yeah and the 9 woman whom had come forward about sexual inappropriate behavior in the workplace
Cuomo put RECOVERED, not infected Covid patients back in to the nursing homes and and the NY State Health Dept. released a report in July that the policy was not responsible for an increase in Covid in Nursing homes, it did raise concerns over how the State was reporting Deaths. Visits were stopped to try to stem the transmission of the virus in and out of areas with infected Patients and not infect healthy patients. Quarantine was imposed on all infected persons and people with contact to an exposed person by the NYS Dept. of Health State wide to try to contain the transmission of the Virus
Sexual misconduct accusations had nothing to do with covid restrictions put in place.
More than 9,000 recovering coronavirus patients in New York state were released from hospitals into nursing homes early in the pandemic under a controversial directive that was scrapped amid criticism it accelerated outbreaks, according to new records obtained by The Associated Press.
Failure to control the spread was at the Federal Level, Donald Trump knew February 7th it was an airborne deadly disease and did nothing to stem the spread to the United States Trump said it was all a hoax and it would all just go away in a couple days instead of issuing federal guidelines, the Federal Coronavirus Task Force did nothing. At it’s peak 799 people died of covid in one day in New York, Cuomo shut the State down while Trump was ranting to open states up. Over a half of a million people died in the U.S. as a result of no early prevention measures by the Federal Gov’t. Trump said the CDC were all a bunch of idiots and not to listen to them. Trump was also against wearing masks. I am not a big fan of Cuomo but he did put measures in place that saved a lot of lives, mistakes were made. Trump knew long before the storm hit that it was coming and did nothing, people don’t use Hotels during a shutdown so was he looking out for the citizens of the U.S. or his own personal interests.
Fauci Emails, your behind the times, better get reading, just one example… Dr. Anthony Fauci reportedly described mask wearing as “not really effective” in a February 5, 2020, email to Sylvia Burwell, President of American University and former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary.
Fauci replied in full to the email:
Masks are really for infected people to prevent them from spreading infection to people who are not infected rather than protecting uninfected people from acquiring infections. The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through the material. It might, however, provide some slight benefit in keep out gross droplets if someone coughs or sneezes on you. I do not recommend that you wear a mask, particularly since you are going to a vey [sic] low risk location. Your instincts are correct, money is best spent on medical countermeasures such as diagnostics and vaccines.
“The typical mask you buy in the drug store is not really effective in keeping out virus, which is small enough to pass through the material,”
In a 60 Minutes interview from March 8, 2020, Fauci said, “There’s no reason to be walking around with a mask. When you’re in the middle of an outbreak, wearing a mask might make people feel a little bit better and it might even block a droplet, but it’s not providing the perfect protection that people think that it is.
“And, often, there are unintended consequences — people keep fiddling with the mask and they keep touching their face,” he continued.
and he accepted an invitation to a friends house for dinner while he was on TV telling Americans to stay home, and stay away from people who did not live in their household.
Then there is the Elephant in the Room, read his history of “Gain of Function”
Trump sent TWO military Hospital ships, Mercy & Comfort, one to each coast… Remember….
Our governor Cuomo didn’t even use it, less than 200 people on ship meant to take on 1000’s
He also didn’t use the emergency hospitals built in Central Park, but I guess you didn’t know that, friends in NYC said it was a joke
Then the remodeling of the Javits Center in Manhattan , it hosted 2,500 bed, but yet only 1000 patients were treated….
Why were people sent back to Nursing homes when they were “Recovering”? At this point in time it was known you were still contagious..
Operation Warp Speed, the only reason you have a vaccine is because Trump ordered it to be done, hence why they were coming out before he left office, (Remember Biden got BOTH doses before becoming president, … even tho Biden don’t remember that)…
Vaccines were being developed long before Trumps warp speed, He only sped up the approval process with an emergency authorization, guess you didn’t know that, Trump thought Bleach was the answer. Other countries were developing vaccines early in the Pandemic, according to you only because of Trump. I guess you can’t comprehend what you read because if the Federal Government would have put safety measures in place the virus could have been contained as other virus’s in the past. Trump knew long before the first case in the U.S that it was deadly and did nothing. The Javits Center and the Ships were brought in because there was a chance of hospitals running out of beds so your saying that because they weren’t used more people should have been infected, they were there for use as overflow hospitals, I guess you didn’t know that. Trump dictated everything and everybody in his Administration, they were told what to say or they were replaced, if Trump would have put measures into place then it would not have come down to each states Governor/Government making the decisions, Trump instead down played the Virus, guess you didn’t know that. Gain of function has not been proven but might well be the cause of the virus, guess you didn’t know that it hasn’t been proven. Anything you state comes after the Fact the Federal Government should have had a plan in place long before the first case in the U.S.