BUFFALO (WBEN) - On Wednesday, Governor Andrew Cuomo threatened to withhold state funding to local governments and school districts that don't follow shutdown orders.
"If I had to do this all over again on lessons learned, I would have had the state take over or hire statewide enforcement, because the enforcement from the local governments is very uneven, especially when it's politically sensitive," Cuomo said.
On Thursday moring, Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul clarified the governor's comments, suggesting that much of the warning from Cuomo had more so to do with regions outside Western New York.
"We're proud that Western New York was 1% (Wednesday) - it was peaking up a little higher last week - but there's parts of our state in these hotspots where it's 6-7%," said Hochul. "So, we have to take drastic actions to make sure that people take this seriously and that local governments, including school districts, understand that there's an urgency and that they're protectors of children's and teacher's health, and there is no greater responsibility..."
In general, despite a few hotspot regions, Hochul also noted that hybrid education implementation around the state has gone quite well to this point.
"We feel more comfortable now that the schools that have opened or in a hybrid situation, adhering to these strict protocols, are working successfully," she continued.
However, one of the main questions that remain for a large portion of Western New York, and especially Bills Mafia - when will fans be allowed to enter Bills Stadium in a limited capacity?
Earlier this week, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz noted that there hadn't been any recent communication between himself and Governor Cuomo regarding a visit to Orchard Park, and Hochul confirmed that there are other priorities at the moment.
"The governor has not been able to come yet," she began. "We've had a number of hotspots he's had to deal with downstate that has drawn a lot of his attention. He has not made that journey here, so there's no change in the situation in terms of getting fans into the stadium."
