(Headline USA) With echoes of 2020 and Democrat leaders’ successful efforts to tank the U.S. economy in a pandemic frenzy, Gov. Kathy Hochul stoked new—albeit unfounded—worries, and further drove up the sky-high cost of eggs and chicken.
Hochul’s shutdown of New York City poultry markets on Friday comes even as leftist demagogues like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. have tried to deflect by blaming President Donald Trump for the supply shortages.
All live poultry markets in New York City and some of its suburbs were ordered to close for a week after the detection of seven cases of bird flu, which has also hit farms nationwide, led to the slaughter of millions of birds.
Hochul admitted that there was no immediate threat to public health and that the temporary closure of bird markets in the city—and its Westchester County and Long Island suburbs—was due to an abundance of caution. No cases of bird flu have been detected among humans in New York, officials said.
The order came after birds infected with the virus were found during routine inspections of live bird markets in the New York City boroughs of the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said the virus posed low risk to the general public. The agency said there have been 67 confirmed cases of bird flu in humans in the U.S., with illnesses mild and mostly detected among farmworkers who were exposed to sick poultry or daily cows.
The first bird flu death in the U.S. was reported last month in Louisiana, with health officials saying the person was older than 65, had underlying medical problems and had been in contact with sick and dead birds in a backyard flock.
In New York, live bird markets where the virus was detected have to dispose of all poultry in a sanitary manner, according to the state’s order.
Other bird markets that do not have cases will have to sell off remaining poultry, clean and disinfect and then remain closed for at least five days and be inspected by state officials before reopening.
In both cases, New York consumers are likely to feel the pinch due to the added regulatory costs and lost sales.
The H5N1 strain of bird flu has been spreading among wild birds, poultry, cows and other animals. Officials have urged people who come into contact with sick or dead birds to wear respiratory and eye protection and gloves when handling poultry.
More than 156 million birds nationwide have been affected by the outbreak, many at large farming operations that have had to slaughter their entire flocks.
The supply shortage, in turn, has led grocery stores and restaurants, including Waffle House and Chick-fil-a, to adjust their prices and practices.
A separate strain of bird flu has also reportedly been detected in cows, raising the prospect of a major nationwide meat shortage that could undermine Trump’s efforts to drive down inflation.
Jeffries was one of several Democrats who sought to exploit the problem—which began during the Biden administration—by faulting Trump for failing to bring down the cost of eggs after his first four days in office.
Wait.
The price of eggs and the cost of living was supposed to go down.
Not up.
— Hakeem Jeffries (@RepJeffries) January 24, 2025
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
