In a statement, Gov. Cuomo said, “We are fighting a war against this pandemic and we know that two of the most effective ways to stop it is by reducing density and increasing our hospital capacity so our healthcare system is not overwhelmed.”
“An extraordinary and necessary step”
The Governor added, “The deployment of the USNS Comfort to New York is an extraordinary but necessary step to help ensure our state has the capacity to handle an influx of patients with COVID-19 and continue our efforts to contain the virus.”
Gov. Cuomo signed an executive order requiring businesses that rely on in-office personnel to reduce their in-office workforce by 50 percent. Businesses providing essential services—the shipping industry, warehouses, groceries, food production, pharmacies, banking, and related financial institutions— are exempted from the executive order.
“Partnering with the private sector to require nonessential employees to work from home will also go a long way toward bending the curve. My number one priority is protecting the public health so that a wave of new cases doesn’t crash our hospital system, and we will continue taking any action necessary to achieve that goal,” said Gov. Cuomo.
