New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Monday called on President Donald Trump to not be a "co-conspirator" of the coronavirus and acknowledge the "major problem" it poses as cases spiked in dozens of states after some rushed to reopen.
The number of US coronavirus deaths exceeded 130 000 on
Monday, following a massive surge of new cases that has put
Trump’s handling of the crisis under the microscope and derailed
efforts to restart the economy.
"So, Mr. President, don't be a co-conspirator of Covid,"
Cuomo said at a news briefing. "Acknowledge to the American
people that Covid exists, it is a major problem, it's going to
continue until we admit it and each of us stands up to do our
part."
Cuomo said Trump was "enabling" the virus if he failed to
acknowledge the severity of the situation, and slammed the
president's comments that the spike in US cases was due to
increased testing.
Pool chairs are spread out as a precaution against the coronavirus on the Fourth of July at the Strat hotel-casino in Las Vegas. Picture: John Locher/AP
"He makes up facts. He makes up science," Cuomo said, citing
several past Trump statements on the virus such it would
disappear like a miracle as the weather got warmer.
"He said all those things, none of them were true," Cuomo
continued. "And now we have a problem in 38 states because some
people believe him."
Cuomo said coronavirus hospitalizations in New York dropped
to 817 - the lowest since March 18 - and nine people died from
Covid-19 on Sunday.
"The numbers have actually declined since we started
reopening," Cuomo said.
Cuomo warned about complacency now that the worst seemed to
be over in New York, pointing to reports of some July Fourth
celebrations, including in Manhattan and on Fire Island and
upstate, where revelers ignored social distancing and face
covering rules.
"That curve was purely a function of what we did," Cuomo
said. "If we change what we're doing, you're going to change the
trajectory of the virus."