Who should we listen to in New York to fight the coronavirus? New York Mayor Bill de Blasio or New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo? Both are Democrats but differ on the strategy to be pursued. This week, they contradicted each other on the prospect of confinement of New Yorkers. While the mayor of the city evoked this hypothesis “Within 48 hours”, the governor immediately contradicted him. “There will be no quarantine”, he assured.
A position reaffirmed this Thursday, before the governor of California decrees confinement ” mandatory “ of its citizens. Finally, this Friday morning, Andrew Cuomo announced a halt to all non-essential activities and a ban on all gatherings in the city and state. “We are all in quarantine”, he hammered.
Confusion, bickering and changes in speech
The confusion, bickering and changing rhetoric of the mayor and governor have been going on for days in New York. While Bill de Blasio refused to close schools, which seemed to be more inevitable every day, he finally bowed under pressure from New York State … leaving parents only a few hours’ notice.
In full speech on ” social distancing “, Bill de Blasio was also spotted at his Brooklyn gym on Monday, drawing criticism on social media. Gym clubs finally closed the same evening by Governor Andrew Cuomo …
The challenges of American political organization
The quarrel illustrates the challenges of American political organization, with a president of the United States who, at the federal level, gives “recommendations”, sovereign governors and mayors as close as possible to the populations. An institutional triptych all the more visible and scrutinized in the State of New York as the city – of the same name – represents almost half of the population (8.4 million people out of 19.4 million in the state) and is now at the forefront of the epidemic in the country, with 4,400 cases of contamination recorded on Friday.
“This is the United States of America. It’s free enterprise ”, explained, disillusioned, the director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, questioned at the White House on the relevance of the different strata.
Partnership
The state of New York is however trying to reverse this movement: Wednesday, it announced the extension of a partnership with the neighboring states of Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. “It is essential that we stay on the same wavelength as our neighboring states. So far, we are the only region of the country that has come together to create uniform policies ”, defended Andrew Cuomo. To prevent residents from going from one state to another depending on traffic restrictions, the four states agree on the type of closed establishments and the size limit for gatherings.
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