One week before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has suddenly reversed the course he’s held solidly for nearly a year, now declaring that his state cannot wait until everyone is vaccinated against COVID-19 and “must reopen the economy.”
“We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass. The cost is too high. We will have nothing left to open. We must reopen the economy, but we must do it smartly and safely,” Cuomo tweeted Monday.
We simply cannot stay closed until the vaccine hits critical mass. The cost is too high. We will have nothing left to open. We must reopen the economy, but we must do it smartly and safely.#SOTS2021
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 11, 2021
The tweet comes after nearly ten consecutive months of draconian shutdowns ordered by Cuomo, which shut down huge swaths of the local economy and bankrupted hundreds if not thousands of restaurants, bars and small businesses. One iconic restaurant, 21 Club, first opened its doors 90 years ago but has now shut down. More than half of all New York restaurantsare now in danger of permanently closing their doors.
(Cover Photo: Diana Robinson)