Saturday, 16 Nov 2024

Andrew Cuomo keeps sowing new COVID confusion

COVID confusion reigns in New York, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo changes the rules on travel while breaking his promise to revisit city indoor dining capacity by Nov. 1.

The 14-day isolation “required” by his quarantine list discouraged most of America from visiting. He finally scrapped it as New York itself hit the marks that put a state on the list. But his new scheme is just as bad for business and hits right before the holiday season: onerous testing requirements.

Visitors, says the gov, must have proof of a negative test taken within three days of arrival, and still must isolate for three days, before getting another test on the fourth day. (A “positive” means 14 days’ quarantine.) Those rules also apply to New Yorkers who leave the state for 24 hours or more.

Yet the people most likely to be problems are also those most likely to laugh off the order. All Cuomo would say about enforcement is that “local health departments” carry responsibility. And no, he hasn’t offered any state funds to make that practical.

Oh, and neighboring states are exempt — though their positivity rates are far higher than the city’s. New Jersey and Pennsylvania had averages above 5 percent last week, vs. Gotham’s 1.58 percent.

Meanwhile, Cuomo broke his vow to rule on increasing indoor dining capacity in the city by Sunday. The rest of the state reopened at 50 percent capacity in July, with no ill effects — but city spots only got a paltry 25 percent at the end of September. By refusing to give an update, the gov leaves these already-at-the-edge businesses in limbo, while city unemployment is twice the national rate.

All pretty rich from a guy now selling a book on leadership.

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