Albany, N.Y. (WBEN) - New York Gov. Kathy Hochul extended the COVID-related state of emergency in New York through July 14, despite declining COVID-19 cases.
Hochul signed the executive order on Tuesday.
"I'm not surprised at all," said State Senator George Borrello (R-Chautauqua County) during an appearance on WBEN on Wednesday. "It's an attempt to keep her grip on power, just like her predecessor." Borrello referring to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
"A state of emergency is supposed to be used in a temporary situation. We are now over two years in a perpetual state of emergency. It has harmed our economy, harmed our children, and has caused more and more people to flee New York State. It's outrageous," he said.
According to the governor's office, the extension gives the state the flexibility to troubleshoot hospital capacity issues and it will be reassessed in 30 days.
The declaration, which can be found here, says the following:
governor.ny.gov
WHEREAS, New York continues to experience COVID-19 transmission, with the rate of new COVID-19 hospital admissions remaining at over 100 new admissions a day;
WHEREAS, the SARS-CoV-2 variant known as Omicron, determined a variant of concern by the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is known to be highly-transmissible and to necessitate that persons have additional doses of vaccines for optimal protection;
WHEREAS, the state must pursue a coordinated approach to ensure hospital capacity statewide is able to meet regional needs;
WHEREAS, the State government must support the municipalities and counties in their efforts to facilitate and administer vaccinations and tests for COVID-19, and to prevent the virus from continuing to spread at such rates;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution of the State of New York and the Laws of New York State, do hereby continue the state disaster emergency as set forth in Executive Order 11, and continue the suspensions and modifications of law contained in Executive Order 11 and its successors, through July 14, 2022.
Borrello raising his eyebrows to the figure of 100 new admissions a day, cited
in the executive order. "There are more than 100 admissions a day of a lot of other things in a state of nearly 20 million people. It's outrageous and the fact that she pointed that out is pathetic in my opinion," he added.
The broad emergency powers allow the governor to dictate the statewide response to COVID-19 without legislature approval. It is reassessed every 30 days.
The current statewide seven-day average positivity rate is 5.5%. The statewide mask mandate for businesses and venues was lifted on Feb. 10 and the statewide mask mandate for schools was lifted on March 2.
