NY Governor Cuomo Speaks of UK Discovery of New COVID-19 Variant - Must Do More to Protect the US

During his tele-press briefing today, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke of the United Kingdom's recent announcement of the discovery of a new variant of the Coronavirus. One which is 70% more transmissible and which the United States Government is doing nothing about to protect its citizens. Below is the transcript of the Governor's words as provided by his office: There is a disturbing story coming out of the UK with this new variant of the virus which according to Boris Johnson is 70 percent more transmissible. The World Health Organization is aware of the new variant. They say the death rate isn't higher, but it's 70 percent more transmittable according to Mr. Johnson. A number of countries have banned people from the UK, a number of countries. The Netherlands has banned people from the UK, Belgium and Italy. Ireland, France and Germany are considering a ban of people from the UK. The UK shut itself down again after finding this variant. This is after Boris Johnson said last week, "we're not cancelling Christmas, we would never do that." They find out about this new variant and now they do 180 degrees, and it's so apparently dangerous the UK imposed its own shutdown. What are we doing? You have 120 countries who demand that a test be taken on the UK side before a person gets on the flight to come to their country. 120 countries demand that before you get on a flight in the UK to come to their country, you have to have tested negative. The United States does not require it. As I mentioned before, other countries are just banning people coming from the UK. We have about 6 flights a day coming in from the UK and we have done absolutely nothing. Now, to me this is reprehensible because this is what happened in the Spring. Coronavirus is in China, it's in China, it's in China. No it wasn't. It went to Europe, and it came from Europe, and we did nothing. The European travel ban was March 16th. The China travel ban was like February 1st. The virus left China, went to the UK, came here from China. Right now, this variant in the UK is getting on a plane and flying to JFK. Right now, today. 120 countries require a test, we don't. Other European countries have done a ban, we haven't, and today that variant is getting on a plane and landing in JFK. How many times in life do you have to make the same mistake before you learn? Be one of the 120 countries that requires a test before they get on the plane to come to the United States. This is the mistake we made. Where is HHS? Where is the CDC? Where is the NIH? This is the same mistake and literally 6 flights a day, and all it takes is one person. All it takes is one. The Port Authority has no authority to ban passengers, health monitor passengers, it's federal. Why at a minimum you wouldn't require a test like the 120 other countries, or why you wouldn't consider a ban like the other European countries? But doing nothing is negligent; it's grossly negligent just like the Spring, because doing nothing is doing something. Every day the federal government does nothing on this problem they do something. They allowed another 6 flights to come into New York. Sometimes in life doing nothing is doing something, and this is one of those times and that's what they did in the Spring.

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