By Dominic Gismondi, contributing writer
COVID-19 has indisputably become a part of everyone’s life. Whether it be the ever-prevalent masks, the hand sanitizer stations or the enforced social distancing guidelines, COVID-19 has entered the life of nearly every person on the planet in one way or another. However, one talking point that has remained constant throughout the pandemic is that New York “leads the nation’s charge on coronavirus.” The story goes that Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and New York state have been implementing the tough and realistic policies necessary to combat the pandemic; they were the ones following the science. Even our own university, in an email sent to all students titled “St. Bonaventure alters fall academic calendar,” said “New York state is now leading the nation in efforts to reduce the spread of the virus.” This shameful statement by the university is completely unfounded, as both then and now, New York is the worst state in the nation regarding its reaction and policies surrounding COVID-19.
New York has the fourth most cases in the nation, the most deaths, doubling the runner-up, and until very recently had the most cases per 100,000 people. However, despite the high numbers, hospitals in the state were slightly impacted, as field clinics were mostly able to handle the caseload. Despite this, New York City’s government invested $50,000,000 into an emergency hospital which went almost entirely unused, treating only 29 patients before closing. In Brooklyn, a cruise terminal was converted into another emergency hospital, costing 21 million dollars and treating zero patients, before shutting down. These two nearly worthless investments do nothing but increase the already extremely high taxes on the people in the state; people whose businesses have been closed for six months now, and according to a recent press conference with Bill DeBlasio, will remain closed until a vaccine is developed. Many of these people have already been forced to sell their buildings and homes to make ends meet and will not be able to remain no matter how much aid the government provides.
Richard Mattoon owned 126 properties across Pennsylvania and New York and ran three large and successful tattoo shops and several smoke shops. Then Cuomo implemented his restrictive quarantine policies. According to Mattoon, he went from “reporting 300, 315,000 in income,” to now having “about $15,000,” left in total. He is unable to charge rent on his tenants by the orders of Cuomo but is still required to pay the gas, heat, water and electricity bills on all his properties. He gave many of his properties to his brother, and now works at the Hickey Dining Hall, attempting to supplement his income, but according to Mattoon, “That $15,000 is going away faster than you’d think.”
State officials have pointed to a high-seeded case rate as the cause for such high numbers and as justification for the over-long lockdown that has put Mattoon, among countless others, in extreme risk, but this does not in any way hold up to scrutiny, as comparable states with equally popular airports, dense cities and busy tourist attractions report significantly lower numbers than New York on all counts. The true cause of such high and severe COVID-19 numbers lies not in the number of cases before the virus was known, but in the policy taken by our governor in the weeks following the discovery of the virus’s danger.
Most egregiously, on March 25, Cuomo issued an advisory ordering all nursing homes to “comply with the expedited receipt of residents,” from hospitals, regardless of whether they are infected with the coronavirus. In other words, Cuomo forced infected patients into the same building as the state’s most vulnerable, the people who need protecting the most. When administrators predictably complained about the policy decision and the dangers it posed to the senior residents, Cuomo sent the nursing homes body bags. This despicable action by the administration went vastly underappreciated by both the news and the public. New York’s governor, instead of trying to solve a problem, just sent body bags. For anyone to say such policy “leads the nation” is shameful, especially when perfectly functional emergency hospitals were lying empty at the time. And this is but one of a series of terrible policy decisions made by the state in reaction to the virus.
Since the pandemic began almost six months ago, New York has completely failed at handling the coronavirus and because of that 21,000 nursing home beds lie empty this year, 13,000 more than expected, according to the Associated Press. Despite his atrocious actions Cuomo insists that he stands on the side of science. Any institution that truly stands with the science and more importantly with the people, would stand against New York’s horrible handling of the pandemic.
gismondm19@bonaventure.edu
