NY Governor Announces ‘Aggressive Enforcement’ Of Covid-19 Protocols

By Staff, Agencies

New York’s Covid-19 battle appears to be far from over, as several “hot zones” in the city will be shut down, with Governor Andrew Cuomo announcing state-run “aggressive enforcement” starting this week.

Queens, Brooklyn, Orange, and Rockland counties have all seen recent increases in positive coronavirus cases, identified areas will be the target of “direct enforcement,” ensuring businesses and citizens are abiding by mask mandates, social distancing orders, and other regulations in place in the state.

“Local governments have not done an effective job of enforcement in these hotspot ZIP codes. [New York State] will be doing aggressive enforcement starting tomorrow,” Cuomo tweeted on Sunday after a conference call with members of the press.

Cuomo added that state authorities are not capable of enforcing compliance “for every jurisdiction,” so if local governments cannot ensure compliance, the state will “close all business activity in hotspots.”

The governor has identified 20 zip codes as containing over 20 percent of the state’s positive Covid-19 cases. Those areas have an infection rate of 4.8 percent, while the overall infection rate in the state is below one percent.

Cuomo also warned he will shut down schools that are not doing more testing than is currently being done.

Despite the NY governor’s insistence on using his authority to enforce Covid-19 regulations on “local governments,” the governor has been resistant in the past to the federal government doing essentially the same thing to his state.

After US President Donald Trump announced in March that he was considering a travel ban on New Yorkers considering the surge in cases there compared to most other states, Cuomo pushed back on the idea of “physical lockdowns” on parts of his own state.

“I don't believe that any federal administration could be serious about physical lockdowns on parts of states across this country,” he said. “I don't believe it's legal. It would be economic chaos.”

Back then, Cuomo called a potential quarantine a “federal declaration of war.”