Before I turn to the latest COVID news, I want to address the violent protests in our state and across the nation. The outrage we are seeing is a response not only to the killing of George Floyd but to the continuing racism in this country that is chronic, endemic and institutional. It is collective hypocrisy. We are good at telling people how they should live their lives and how they should act but we still discriminate on the basis of skin color. We don’t need to lose the passion or the outrage—we need to direct it. Like a laser-focused on real, positive change.
That’s how George Floyd does not become just another name in the long list of people who should never have died.
That’s how his death won’t be in vain.
Photo of the Day: Hundreds of volunteers turned out in Rochester, NY to clean up damage from last night’s demonstrations (Photo by Shawn Dowd/Democrat and Chronicle)
Here’s what else you need to know tonight:
1. New York dentists can reopen statewide tomorrow. Dentists’ offices will be subject to state guidance on best practices for safety and social distancing.
2. The number of total COVID hospitalizations continues to decline. Total hospitalizations fell to 3,436, from 3,619 the day before. Yesterday, we had 191 new COVID hospitalizations.
3. Daily fatalities drop to the lowest level since March 23. Yesterday, 56 New Yorkers died from COVID. This is a tragic number — but we are thankful it is much, much lower than where it was at the peak. As this number goes down, we expect it to level out. The question is how low it will go before that happens.
4. A note on protesting safely. If you or someone you know intends on peacefully protesting tonight or in the future, please remember that Coronavirus continues to be a public health issue in our state and there are simple steps that can be taken to help reduce the spread of COVID-19: Wear a mask, bring hand sanitizer and keep to smaller groups.
5. Over 2 million New Yorkers have been tested for Coronavirus. Yesterday, 58,444 New Yorkers were tested, bringing the total to 2,063,825 million people tested. Of those tested yesterday, only 1,110 were positive, or about 1.9% of those tested.
Tonight’s “Deep Breath Moment”: Archaeologists in northern Italy recently
discovered a perfectly preserved mosaic of an Ancient Roman villa. The remains of the villa were discovered in the same location, nearly a century ago and researchers had dedicated countless attempts to try and locate the foundations, which were recently rewarded with this remarkable find.
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Ever Upward,
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo
