Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo updated New Yorkers on the state's progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The Governor detailed testing results from areas where the state is seeing upticks in cases over the past weeks. In "Red Zone" focus areas in four counties, the positivity rate over the past three weeks has been 6.4 percent, compared to the rest of the state at 0.91 percent. These "Red Zone" focus areas are home to 2.8 percent of state's population, yet have been where 19.7 percent of all positive cases statewide have come from over the past three weeks.

AUDIO of today's remarks is available here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's remarks is available below:

Good morning guys. Guys being gender-neutral. Today is day 223, 223 days. We did 139,000 test results yesterday. And here are the numbers. 20 hot spot ZIP codes, 5.4 percent positive. 20 hot spot ZIP codes, 5.4 percent. The State of New York, without the oversample of the hot spot ZIP codes, is .9. The positivity for the state, if you include the oversample of hot spots in ZIP codes, 1.1.

Now, let me just say something that I said before, just so you don't mislead people. We are oversampling a very small part of the state that has a very high infection rate. That oversample, when added to the statewide number, is a skewed number because it oversamples a very small area that has a very high infection rate. When you report the statewide infection rate and you include the oversample without saying it's an oversample, that is misleading at best, right? So, just understand the two facts. You have hot spot ZIP codes, we're oversampling those because you have those under a microscope. They are currently 5.4 percent. The rest of the state is .9. It is misleading when you report, well, if you put the two together, this is the number. Yeah, but it's not statistically accurate, right?

Here's another number. This is going to shock you. Well, it shocked me, I don't know if it shocks you. Over the past three weeks, if you look at the red zones, the red zones are the cluster zones that we identified in our plan announced two days ago, the red zones, not ZIP codes, the red zones. The red zones are 2.8 percent of the state population. 2.8. "All these new rules in the red zone." It's 2.8 percent of the population. And by the way, the new rules are less restrictive than the old rules, which were total shutdown. Now, they weren't followed, but the old rules were more restrictive.

Anyway, red zones, 2.8 percent of the population. They are 20 percent of the state's cases. 2 percent is 20 percent of the state's cases. Ten timesthe population. The infection rate overall in those red zones, 6.6 percent. Without the red zones, over sampled, the State is .9, which is right where we are today. Alright?

Now, this actually shows how advanced our testing system is. We do more tests per day than most states do per week. When you do 140,000 tests you get data that is so granular that you can track it to the block. We've tracked it to 2.8 percent of the population of the State. We're now attacking the virus within the 2.8 percent of the population. You understand that? That's because we have so much testing data that we can get that specific. When you see it growing anywhere, then blow the whistle, send all the fire fighters to put out those embers. That's what we're doing - 2.8 percent.

Six New Yorkers passed away. They're in our thoughts and prayers. Seven hundred and seventy-nine were hospitalized yesterday; 168 were in ICUs; 78 were intubated. Across the State, New York City is still a problem: 1.2 percent. That's primarily Brooklyn. Capital Region .7 is good. Central New York .9 is good. Finger Lakes .8 is good. Long Island 1.0, which is okay. Mid-Hudson is 2.1, but that's Orange, Rockland. Mohawk Valley .5 that's good. North Country .3 that's good. Southern Tier 1.0, that's that bar cluster in Broome. Western New York 1.3, not good.

In the hot spot counties: Orange 3.6, right about where it was. Rockland, 5.6; Broome 3.2; Brooklyn 1.9, up from 1.7. We're doing enforcement in bars and restaurants. We're doing enforcement in the hot spots. We've sent rapid testing teams all throughout the State. On the school testing, I suggest you look at the dashboard. There were 4,500 new school reported tests yesterday; 1,800 by school districts; 2,600 by non-public and charter. It's a total of 66,000 tests reported since the beginning. Twenty-nine thousand by school district, 36 by non-public and charter schools.

Yesterday, 648 school districts submitted data. That's 94 percent. Forty-two schools are receiving orders for non-compliance in submitting data.Okay? There were 97 new cases reported yesterday off-site and on-site students, teachers and staff. 58 student cases, 39 new teachers, staff cases.

In terms of Brooklyn, again I want people to understand the red zone, as opposed to ZIP codes, we've been talking about 20 ZIP codes, the red zone are the red circles that we've identified in our new plan. 2.8 percent of the population 20 percent of the cases. We have always attacked clusters. This cluster happens to be predominantly the ultra-orthodox in Brooklyn and Queens. We have always attacked clusters. When restaurants were creating clusters and the local governments weren't enforcing against restaurants, I enforced against restaurants. When bars were creating clusters and the local governments weren't enforcing against bars, I enforced against bars. When colleges were creating clusters we closed down colleges, right? This is not the first time the state has taken this action. "Oh, unprecedented state action" No, it's not unprecedented; it is the pattern of behavior that we have used from the beginning. Bars, restaurants, clusters, concert in the Hamptons - whenever there is a cluster, we have attacked it. So, this is nothing new.

Last point, Governor Gretchen Whitmer was threatened by a group that was threatening harm to her, and the Governor suggested that the President was inciting or facilitating this kind of division. There is no question but that the President of the United States is a divisive force. He has been from the day of his election. His campaign was premised on division. His campaign was the oldest political strategy in the book used by the Roman empire - divide and conquer. He exploits divisions. Old immigrants versus new immigrants. Racial divisions. Class divisions. The KKK in Charlottesville, "well there are good people on both sides of the argument." No. The KKK are not good. Racism is not good. Discrimination is not good; it violates our principle. It's anti-American behavior. He has advocated anti-Italian American behavior to further his political goals. I agree with Governor Whitmer. There is no doubt that he is exploiting division and fomenting division to help his campaign. I also believe his campaign is fomenting the ultra-orthodox in Brooklyn. Well, that's wild speculation by the Governor. No. I don't do wild speculation. Let me play you a recording of a call that went out. Okay, hold one second?

Call: [Inaudible] We just hung up the phone with a group of us [inaudible] that are in touch with the Trump campaign. They're urging everybody to come out with signs, "Cuomo killed thousands". Come to 13th Avenue and hold big signs, "Cuomo killed thousands," as many as possible, as big as possible. The more signs we have, the bigger the national outcry will be. Tonight, on 13th Avenue or wherever Heshy Tischler goes, everybody should hold a sign, "Cuomo killed thousands". The Trump campaign is urging us to hold as many and as big signs as possible. Please send this message around, make it go viral.

Governor Cuomo: Okay. Then there's a tweet from Heshy Tischler, and I'm reading it: urgent: who can print, "Cuomo hates Jews" and "Cuomo killed thousands" on flags, urgent, who can print Cuomo hates Jews and Cuomo killed thousands on flags, 2:06 p.m., 10/7/20 is the date. The phone call you heard, the robocall, the Heshy he is referring to is HeshyTischler so the robocall says the Trump campaign wants us to do this. Heshey tweets, who can print "Cuomo hates Jews" and "Cuomo killed thousands" on flags. How ugly, how divisive, how poisonous, how disgusting, how hurtful, how painful. New York just showed solidarity and unity that was unprecedented. For seven months, I've been saying let's listen to our better angels. Let's act in commonality. The antidote to community spread is community. Caring for one another. Here, the Trump campaign wants to enflame divisions. Meanwhile, they're putting people's lives at risk. 20 percent of the cases coming from these districts. 20 percent from 2.8 percent. Some of those people will die. What's the Trump campaign saying? Play politics, play politics. It's disgusting.