Gov. Andrew Cuomo will hold a COVID-19 briefing on Memorial Day from the Intrepid Museum in New York City. The museum honors military and maritime history.
The governor said this Memorial Day holds added meaning, reflecting not only on servicemen and women who gave their lives for our country, but also for the healthcare and essential workers on the front lines of the COVID-19 fight.
Remembering these individuals, Cuomo announced that state and local governments will be providing death benefits to family members of front line workers who died from the virus.
“You want to say thank you? Show that you’re grateful. Show the respect,” he said. “And the least we can do, and I would say what we must do, is for their families, those who died from the COVID virus, make sure they get the appropriate death benefits.”
Cuomo called on the federal government to provide hazard pay to front line workers who did their jobs during the pandemic.
“You can increase activity without increasing virus spread,” he said. “Be smart. You know, I talk about the masks, and I will talk about the masks until I’m blue in the face because they work.”
Over the weekend, Gov. Cuomo announced that campgrounds and RV parks would open in New York Monday. Many regions of New York are hoping to enter Phase Two of reopening by the end of the week.
The governor says the state is aware of a recent uptick in COVOD-19 cases in the Finger Lakes and Central New York regions. He says, while one could expect to see such a rise in cases as reopening moves forward and the number of gatherings increases, officials do not believe the spike in cases are tied to reopening efforts.
— 13 WHAM