Here in the UK, Britons are regularly told that the country’s handling of coronavirus is mocked right across the world. There have been countless round-ups of international press cuts in which Boris Johnson has been heavily criticised – even if the author is often a Brit known to harbour little admiration for the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, so-called liberal lights such as Emmanuel Macron and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo are praised for their response – even if the death toll also makes for a bleak picture.
So, in the interest of international balance, Mr S was intrigued to see an article in the New York Post suggesting that Cuomo’s current handling is poor – and the lockdown need end now. Following recent anti-lockdown protests by New Yorkers and breaches of the strict lockdown measures, columnist David Marcus issues a rallying cry: ‘End New York City’s lockdown now!’
‘By prolonging the coronavirus shutdown long after its core mission was accomplished, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio have plunged tens of thousands of New Yorkers into poverty. It needs to end. Now.
In mid-March, we were told we have to endure a lockdown to ensure that hospitals didn’t get overrun. We did. The hospitals were not overwhelmed. We turned the Javits Center into a hospital. We didn’t need it. We brought in a giant Navy ship to treat New Yorkers. We didn’t need it.
We were told we were moments away from running out of ventilators. We weren’t, and now the United States has built so many, we are giving them away to other countries.
Meanwhile, the Big Apple is dying. Its streets are empty.’
Cuomo is criticised for offering little when it comes to a route out of lockdown:
‘We should always consider that we are led by idiots, as one of my friends likes to remind me. Cuomo and de Blasio have no plan. There is not a single question about when New York can get back to normal to which they have a straight answer. Not one. They cash their taxpayer paychecks while immiserating the rest of us.’
One to watch.
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