New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined a growing number of Democratic officials who are lifting coronavirus restrictions now that former President Donald Trump is out of office.
He announced on Monday that the state will be adjusting its restrictions “in the coming days,” citing a decline in positive cases and hospitalizations.
“I think we’re at a new place now, and we can start to adjust that valve and start to open up more economic activity and reduce some of the restrictions,” Cuomo said during a press briefing on Monday. “But don’t get cocky with COVID.”
However, Cuomo warned the restrictions would go back in place if the numbers began to go back up.
“I know it’s been a long time, and I know the numbers look good today,” Cuomo said. “But we’ve been down this road before, and the road has curves, and the road has potholes, so please just be smart.”
Cuomo said the reason he feels confident lifting restrictions is because President Joe Biden’s management of the pandemic is much more reliable, noting that the White House plans to hold a call with governors at some point this week to discuss vaccine distribution.
“I believe they take public health seriously,” he said. “And just in the past few days you’ve seen a big difference, and they’ve taken actions that I think were long overdue.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom similarly lifted his state’s stay-at-home order this week, despite the fact that positive cases in several parts of the state have not decreased.
“We’re seeing a flattening of the curve—everything that should be up is up, everything that should be down is down—case rates, positivity rates, hospitalizations, ICUs,” Newsom said at a virtual news conference.
When asked which rates he was referring to, Newsom said he was working off of his own private numbers and would not share exactly what those numbers were.
Only after receiving harsh criticism did Newsom make public the state’s four-week projection for ICU capacities in each region of the state.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also lifted restrictions after Biden’s inauguration.
