New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is agreeing with President Donald Trump that the World Health Organization (WHO) mishandled the coronavirus pandemic.
During his coronavirus press briefing on Friday, Cuomo discussed the alleged failure by WHO to take the right steps to properly inform countries about the coronavirus prior to it spreading internationally.
Although the agency claims to have done its part, Cuomo insists that Trump is right to question their response. The New York governor also argues that the global agency’s efforts were “too little, too late.”
“Whose job is it to warn us of these global pandemics?” Cuomo said on Friday. “The president says it’s the World Health Organization, and that’s why he’s taken action against them. Not my field. But he’s right to ask the question because this was too little, too late.”
Check out Cuomo’s remarks below:
Cuomo says President Trump is "right" to question World Health Organization's early handling of the coronavirus outbreak: "This was too little, too late, and let's find out what happened so it does not happen again. And it will happen again. Bank on it." https://t.co/9T8aUPjUrs pic.twitter.com/GU5HXss4Sb
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 24, 2020
Cuomo also discussed the different strains of coronavirus that have been discovered and how he believes the initial travel ban did very little to decrease the possibility of the virus spreading in New York.
Despite the U.S. travel ban from China — which went into effect on February 2 — researchers are now suggesting that the strain in New York likely came from Europe, as Cuomo noted.
The governor also noted that from January to March, approximately 13,000 flights came from Europe to New York and New Jersey airports carrying more than 2.2 million people.
See Cuomo’s remarks below:
Cuomo discusses new research tracing the early spread of coronavirus: "The virus that came to New York did not come from China. It came from Europe." https://t.co/9T8aUPjUrs pic.twitter.com/mcapq3EJlc
— CBS News (@CBSNews) April 24, 2020
Since there were no travel bans from Europe, Italy, and Spain at the time, researchers estimate that approximately 28,000 cases, including 10,000 in New York, may have been in the United States in February.
Cuomo believes many of the United States’ coronavirus cases may have come through “the back door.”
“We closed the front door with the China travel ban, which was right,” Cuomo said, adding, “But we left the back door open because the virus had left China by the time we did the China travel ban.”
As of Saturday morning, there are more than 905,000 positive coronavirus cases in the U.S. as governors around the country are continuing to work to combat the virus. The U.S. death toll from the virus has surpassed 51,000.
