What you should know
- Kathy Hochul has vowed to clean the house and inherits significant challenges as governor, from the current COVID crisis to crime, marijuana legalization and budget battles.
- She took significant action related to COVID-19 on the first day in office by adding the death toll reported by the CDC, which is more than 10,000 above state reports, to her daily update and by reinstating usage mandates. of masks in schools.
- “We have to go back to that standardization of vaccines and forget all the Republican rhetoric, which is killing people … I’m tired of what I see happening in other states,” Hochul told MSNBC on Wednesday.
—
NEW YORK – Newly sworn-in Governor Kathy Hochul sought to lay the groundwork for her administration’s response to the pandemic on her first day in office by reimplementing a school mask mandate, outlining plans to combat the Delta variant and by offering promised gestures of transparency on multiple fronts on your first full day at the office.
Hochul included New York State’s total number of COVID-19 deaths as reported by the CDC in its first daily COVID-19 statement that was issued Tuesday, a tally of more than 10,000 deaths higher (55,395) than what the state had (43,415) and includes deaths in nursing homes. Andrew Cuomo’s office said it was excluding them to avoid counting them twice.
“We are now releasing more data than has ever been released before. To let people know that nursing home deaths and hospital deaths are consistent with what the CDC shows,” Hochul told MSNBC on Wednesday. “There are a lot of things that weren’t happening, and I’m going to make them happen.”
“There are presumed and confirmed deaths. People should know both, “Hochul said later on NPR.” Until yesterday, we use numbers from the CDC, which will be consistent. Therefore, we do not have the opportunity to mask those numbers, nor do I want to mask those numbers. The public deserves a clear and honest picture of what is happening. And that’s good or bad, they need to know the truth. “
The 62-year-old Democrat plans a series of additional announcements later this week, including a series of concise COVID-related policies for schools. She ordered in-person ethics training for all state employees as she competes to transform culture in Albany and is working to accelerate state income relief hampered by the pandemic.
“I was surprised to find that not all New York State employees are required to have ethics training. I declared it over yesterday,” Hochul said Wednesday. “I do not participate in the drama, I do not have time for that,” he added. “It’s about getting things done.”
The governor said in her first official public address that her top priority is getting children back to school safely. Hochul said he was directing state health officials to make wearing the masks mandatory for anyone entering public or private schools. His administration will also work, he said, to implement the requirement that all school personnel across the state be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 tests.
“None of us want a repeat of last year’s horrors with COVID-19,” Hochul said while emphasizing the need for caution amid the threat posed by the still raging delta variant. “Therefore, we will take proactive steps to prevent that from happening.”
He said he is preparing the state to distribute the booster vaccines when they become widely available (Johnson & Johnson shared data from the first booster trial on its vaccine on Wednesday), including the possible reopening of mass inoculation sites.
“There are many older people who feel very insecure and invulnerable because they would have received their first injections about eight months ago… so I will have a very aggressive schedule to get the boosters out,” Hochul said during an NPR segment recorded Wednesday. “But there are still a lot of people who never got their first dose, and that’s going to be a barrier to people feeling safe going to school and working. So I’m focused on those two big initiatives.”
With the power of full FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine earlier this week, Hochul has also said that New Yorkers “can look forward to new vaccine requirements.” She has yet to give any indication of what they might involve, but promised “more on that soon”.
Hochul ducked details when asked about vaccine requirements while conducting the morning rounds of the television show on Wednesday, telling CBS that he focuses on helping ease families’ anxiety before school starts on Wednesday. next month.
“I am a mother. I can understand that stress levels are off limits. So first of all, we have to have the use of mandatory masks, something that is not universally popular, but it is an important step towards safety in the schools, “Hochul said. “I do not have the executive power to require vaccination in schools. But I will work closely to reach that conclusion by joining with our partners in the educational community and our school superintendents and school boards. This has to happen because this has gone on too long. Our children must return to school. “
“They need to return to the normal learning environment because we have lost too much time, particularly for children from black and brown communities, those who come from poor countries are already starting strikes against them,” he added. “And we cannot allow this to continue. We need them back at school.”
Meanwhile, Hochul will continue to fill vacancies in his administration. He promised to “clean the house” in regards to the “toxic” work environment referenced in the state attorney general’s sexual harassment report on Cuomo and has already chosen two women: the secretary and advisor to the governor. .
The in-person ethics training that Hochul ordered for all state employees is aimed at making the process more comprehensive and effective than the previous standard, where “everyone clicks on their computer and says they have done it,” he said.
“I want to make sure that people have no excuses, that they understand what our policies are. I will personally make sure that all young women, women of all ages who work in this environment, as well as members of the LGBTQ community that a They often feel like they have been attacked by others, I want everyone to know that my administration will be open, transparent and an environment where people can do their jobs without fear of harassment, “said Hochul.
“And anyone who crosses the line, they will have to deal with me. There is no tolerance for anyone who abuses their positions, and that is the message I am sending,” he added. “But I’m not just going to talk. I’m going to make sure I stay on track so that at the end of my terms, people understand that there has been a big change in the culture, and it’s starting on day one.”
Early Wednesday, Hochul told “Morning Joe“That anyone from the previous administration named in the attorney general’s sexual harassment report involving Cuomo had been removed from his administration.
They know I’m on the go. I’m just saying it’s over. None of this is going to be accepted.
GOB. KATHY HOCHUL ON HARASSMENT
In the coming days, Hochul is expected to announce his election for lieutenant governor, for now sources from our sister network NBC 4 They said it could be New York Senator Brian Benjamin.
In an interview in “Face The Nation”From CBS earlier this month, Hochul said he had narrowed his search to focus on New York City candidates.
“Even though I have spent thousands of hours in New York City and am familiar with the challenges, I want someone to live there,” she said. “I want someone who understands the challenges first hand.”
He also said that he had spoken with Mayor Bill de Blasio and knew ahead of time about the city’s teacher vaccination mandate plans, promising that the two would have a much less bitter relationship than the one De Blasio shared with his predecessor.
“I am running for re-election, without any doubt in my mind, I am going to have continuity here,” Hochul said on MSNBC on Wednesday. “I want to make sure people know that when I’m done with my administration, no matter how many terms go, they will say yes, that women can lead, that they can achieve greatness. They can do good for the people of their state, leave a strong legacy of achievement, but do it in a way that’s very different from what we’ve seen before. “
– .
