NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- New York is still not ready to set a reopening date for gyms, theaters or malls, despite the fact that the state reported record low COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths this week, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday.
In a conference call with reporters on Friday, Cuomo said 951 New Yorkers were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday — the lowest daily total since the pandemic began.
Fourteen New Yorkers died of complications related to the virus on Thursday, and the state's three-day death average was 16, marking the lowest three-day average yet, he said. New York also had the lowest seven-day average positivity rate in the U.S. this past week, he added, citing data from Johns Hopkins University.
However, gyms, theaters and malls still won't reopen as part of Phase 4, Cuomo said.
"We are still looking at the science and the data. There has been information that those situations have created issues in other states," he said. "If we have that information, we don't want to then go ahead until we know what we're doing, right?"
"Logic suggests if you see a problem in other states, that you explore it before you move forward in your state," he added. "And that's what we're doing with gyms, theaters and malls."
As part of its evaluation, the state's Department of Health is working to determine if there is "any filtration system for an air conditioning system that can successfully remove the virus from air circulation," he noted.
Cuomo on Friday said New York would be willing to provide assistance to states that are currently seeing COVID-19 surges. That aid could include sending health care supplies or deploying the National Guard, he said.
"Sixty thousand people, health care workers, volunteered to come to New York and help us," he said. "We will never forget that graciousness, and we will repay it in any way we can."
The governor called the spike in COVID-19 cases across the country "frightening and revealing at the same time."
"The virus will not respond to political theory," he said. "The virus must be treated through science. Study the data, and deal with it as a public health emergency."
Asked about the fate of this year's New York State Fair, the governor said the state is currently "not in the position to go ahead" with the event.
"Breaks my heart," he said. "I've spent a lot of personal time (there), and the state has done really great work there."
"Right now, we can't say that it's going to open," he added. "But it's something that I'm watching very closely."
