Two Coasts. One Virus. How New York Suffered Nearly 10 Times the Number of Deaths as California.
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California, if twice as populous as New York, does not have nearly as many people living on top of one another; despite San Francisco’s density, it does not have millions of people packed into subways and buses the way New York City does. New York City is home to far more African Americans, a population hit hard by the virus.
But the timing of New York’s shutdown undeniably played a role in the dire human toll the virus has exacted. In April, two prominent experts said in a New York Times opinion article that their research showed that had New York imposed its extreme social distancing measures a week or two earlier, the death toll might have been cut by half or more.
It’s an assessment shared by Dr. Tom Frieden, the former head of New York City’s Health Department. “Days earlier & so many deaths could have been prevented,” Frieden tweeted in April.
Asked if Cuomo questioned the accuracy or integrity of the findings on how many deaths might have been prevented with an earlier imposition of the statewide shut down, a spokesman wrote:
“Our job is to make policy decisions based on the facts and data we have at the time and that’s exactly what we did. We needed the public’s buy-in, which is what happened, and how we ultimately flattened the curve.”
In recent days, Cuomo has said he wished he had been quicker to see the threat, “blow the bugle” and take action, only to all but instantly shift tone and cast blame everywhere: at international and U.S. health agencies; at the federal government; at news organizations.
“Governors don’t do global pandemics,” Cuomo said.
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Of course I agree, and I was openly critical of him in early March.
But I must say seeing people pile on Cuomo now who at the time were saying ‘it’s just the flu’ seems a bit ... opportunistic.
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We Californians are just tougher than New Yorkers.
We are bombarded daily on FB by the Newsome haters. I live in a pocket of huge right wing politics. He's being made out to be the antichrist. Why is the Right such a screeching lot? Always crying about their victimhood. For a group that "invented" the word snowball, they don't even see the hypocrisy they are so entrenched. Newsome saved California from becoming a NYC with his quick action. Unfortunately, too many can't see this and choose to make this whole thing of open or not, right versus left. Fuck your president. He just keeps stoking that fire just so his selfish ass can get reelected.
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@jon-nyc said in Two Coasts. One Virus. How New York Suffered Nearly 10 Times the Number of Deaths as California.:
Of course I agree, and I was openly critical of him in early March.
But I must say seeing people pile on Cuomo now who at the time were saying ‘it’s just the flu’ seems a bit ... opportunistic.
One does the best they can, with the information available at the time. I don't fault Cuomo. Or Trump. Or Newsom. Or DeSantis.
Most national pols and the governor's have done ok, to about as best they could. Only a few have really screwed the pooch.
