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Cuomo Says ‘Wear a Mask’ as Protests and Coronavirus Collide

New York Reports 67 New Virus Deaths, Same as Yesterday

(Bloomberg) --

Governor Andrew Cuomo urged protesters Saturday to “wear a mask” as the coronavirus crisis collided with violent demonstrations in New York following the death of a black man in Minneapolis by a white police officer.

Cuomo said he ordered a review of the circumstances around alleged police violence, caught on video and circulated on social media, during demonstrations Friday night in Brooklyn. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was ordering his own review.

Both men also called on protesters to refrain from violence and said they’re concerned about the risks of the virus combining in the close quarters of protests, which de Blasio called “inherently dangerous.”

“You are wrong not to wear a mask,” Cuomo told reporters in the Bronx. “I think you’re disrespectful. I think you are putting other people’s lives at risk needlessly.”

“So demonstrate, wear a mask,” he said.

New York was one major point of nationwide protests over George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. The officer has been charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter.

The virus and Floyd’s death were “connected” in that both expose racism and inequality, Cuomo said.

“I’m with the protesters,” he said. “Yes, be outraged. Yes, be frustrated. Demand better. Demand justice. But not violent.”

Molotov Cocktail

New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said 200 people were arrested in Brooklyn amid some 3,000 protesters. Shea, appearing beside de Blasio, said several officers were hospitalized in violence, including a Molotov cocktail thrown at an occupied police car, and at least one loaded firearm was found.

Cuomo gave no indication that the protests would slow the start of reopening in New York City, the center of the nation’s coronavirus outbreak. The reopening, the last in the state, is due to begin June 8.

As evidence of that racial disparity, he said one tactic for moving toward opening New York City was to focus on “hotspots” -- sections where positive cases can be nearly 50% and are largely among minorities. The city average is about 20%.

“We have work to do but we’ll still get it done by June 8,” he said.

The governor reported Saturday another 67 deaths, the same number as on Friday and the fifth straight day of fatalities under 75. That compares to nearly 800 in a day at the virus’s peak in April.

The state reported another 1,376 new coronavirus cases, for a total of 369,660. Cuomo said that new and total hospitalizations continued to drop, as did admissions to intensive care.

At the briefing, the governor also signed a law to compensate the hundreds of essential workers who have died in the outbreak.

“It is the least we can do to say, ‘thank you,’” he said. To their families, he said, “We grieve for your loss and we will always be there for you the way you were there for us.”

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.