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>> Stephen: WELCOME BACK, EVERYBODY.
MY GUEST TONIGHT IS THE 56TH GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF
NEW YORK.
PLEASE WELCOME GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO!
THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING WITH US, GOVERNOR, AND THANK YOU FOR
EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING TO KEEP OUR STATE SAFE AND THE PUBLIC
INFORMED.
>> THANK YOU.
>> Stephen: HOW ARE YOU?
I'M DOING WELL.
SO FAR, SO GOOD.
AS WELL AS I CAN BE DOING UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES, ANYWAY,
STEPHEN.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU.
I'M A BIG FAN.
>> Stephen: WELL, SIR, I KNOW YOU'RE SEQUESTERED RIGHT NOW
WITH ADULT CHILDREN.
THAT'S IN YOUR LITTLE QUARANTINE BUBBLE.
HOW IS THAT, HAVING THE ADULT KIDS AT HOME WITH YOU?
>> THAT'S ACTUALLY COOL.
YOU KNOW, MY KIDS ARE 22, 25 AND 25 TWINS, THREE GIRLS.
I NORMALLY CAN'T GET THEM TO COME HOME TO VISIT ME, STEPHEN.
I NORMALLY HAVE TO PAY THEM TO COME VISIT ME.
THEY WANT TO CHECK WHEN THEY COME.
>> Stephen: SURE.
O TO HAVE THEM WITH ME HAS REALLY BEEN A SILVER LINING IN A
WEIRD WAY, YOU KNOW.
>> Stephen: YES.
BECAUSE THEY'RE OUT THERE LIVING THEIR LIFE, THE LAST
THING THEY WANT TO GO IS GO HANG OUT WITH DAD IN ALBANY, YOU
KNOW.
>> Stephen: I KNOW.
BUT THEY HAVE BEEN HERE, AND IT'S BEEN VERY HELPFUL TO ME
BECAUSE, WITH EVERYTHING GOING ON, IT'S JUST VERY GROUNDING FOR
ME TO GO HOME AND HAVE THEM THERE AND HEAR THEIR ABUSE,
WHICH I'M ACCUSTOMED TO AND COMES FROM A GOOD PLACE.
>> Stephen: HOW ABOUT THE BOYFRIEND?
IS THE BOYFRIEND STILL WITH YOU?
>> THE BOYFRIEND IS STILL WITH US, YES.
>> Stephen: AND WE LIKE THE BOYFRIEND?
>> YES, WE LIKE THE BOYFRIEND.
OFFICIAL COMMENT, WE LIKE THE BOYFRIEND.
PERSONAL COMMENT, I LIKE THE BOYFRIEND.
I LEARNED THAT LESSON THE HARD WAY, YOU HAVE TO SAY YOU LIKE
THE BOYFRIEND, NO MATTER WHATEVER YOU FEEL BECAUSE
THEY'RE STILL IN THE REBELLION PHASE.
IF YOU SAY YOU DON'T LIKE THE BOYFRIEND, THEY WILL MAR BY THE
BOYFRIEND TO SPITE YOU.
SO, YES, I LIKE THE BOYFRIEND.
>> Stephen: AND HERE'S WHY I THINK YOU LIKE THE BOYFRIEND
BECAUSE YOU'RE WILLING TO TALK ABOUT WHETHER YOU LIKE THE
BOYFRIEND.
BECAUSE IF YOU DIDN'T LIKE THE BOYFRIEND, YOU WOULD NEVER
MENTION THE BOYFRIEND.
>> I ACTUALLY LIKE THE BOIFNLD.
AND THE BOYFRIEND HAS BEEN IN CLOSE PRACTICE I WANT, AND IF I
DIDN'T LIKE THE BOYFRIEND, THAT WOULD HAVE COMMUNICATED NOW
THROUGH VARIOUS MEANS AND METHODS.
>> Stephen: I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT SOMETHING YOU TALKED
ABOUT IN YOUR PRESS BRIEFING YESTERDAY.
NEW YORK CITY OVERALL -- NEW YORK STATE OVERALL NUMBERS
ARE DROPPING, BUT YOU REPORTED YESTERDAY THAT IN A SURVEY OF
1,300 NEW COVID PATIENTS, 66% OF THEM HAD BEEN STAYING AT HOME.
DO WE KNOW WHY THESE PEOPLE WHO ARE STAYING AT HOME ARE STILL
GETTING SICK?
>> YEAH, IT'S ACTUALLY INTERESTING, STEPHEN.
THE CLOSE-DOWN HAS WORKED SO WELL, AND WHAT WE FEARED DIDN'T
COME TRUE.
I WAS AFRAID THAT THE ESSENTIAL WORKERS WOULD HAVE A HIRING
IFECTION RATE -- THE HEALTHCARE, TRANSIT WORKERS, POLICE.
>> Stephen: MAKES SENSE.
THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN.
ACTUALLY, THE HEALTHCARE WORKERS, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, HAVE
A LOWER INFECTION RATE THAN THE GENERAL POPULATION, WHICH JUST
SHOWS THE P.P.E., THE MASKS, ET CETERA, ACTUALLY WORKS.
THE INFECTION RATE IS NOW DOWN TO AN INCREASE AMONG THOSE
PEOPLE WHO STAY HOME, MEANING THE CLOSE-DOWN IS WORKING.
WE'RE DOWN TO A LEVEL NOW WHERE IT'S PURE PERSONAL BEHAVIOR AND
WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE WEARING A MASK AND YOU'RE USING SANITIZER.
BECAUSE PEOPLE WHO ARE AT HOME WHO ARE NOT WORKING, NOT TAKING
PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, THAT'S THE ONLY AREA THAT WE STILL SEE
GROWTH, AND THAT'S ACTUALLY GOOD NEWS.
>> Stephen: NOW, 30 STATES ARE EITHER OPENING OR CLOSE TO
OPENING, BUT MOST OF THOSE STATES DON'T MEET THE FEDERAL
GUIDELINES, EVEN THE GUIDELINES PUT OUT BY THE WHITE HOUSE
THEMSELVES.
NEW YORK'S NOT REOPENING YET, BUT DO YOU HAVE A PLAN IN PLACE?
>> YEAH.
WE HAVE A VERY SPECIFIC PLAN, PROBABLY THE MOST SPECIFIC PLAN,
AND THE GOVERNING PHILOSOPHY IS -- I UNDERSTAND THE ANXIETY
AND THE STRESS AND WE ALL WANT THE OPEN AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE,
EVERYBODY DOES, MYSELF INCLUDED, BUT YOU DON'T OPERATE OUT OF
EMOTION AND PASSION, RIGHT?
YOU STAY WITH FACTS AND DATA.
SO WE HAVE BEEN DOING THAT ALL ALONG.
WE FOLLOW THE SCIENCE, WE FOLLOW THE FACTS, WE FOLLOW THE DATA,
AND WE'RE GOING TO REOPEN BY THE DATA.
WE KNOW HOW MANY HOSPITALIZATIONS WE HAVE, WE
KNOW WHAT THE INFECTION RATE IS, WE KNOW WHAT THE TESTING RATE
IS.
FOLLOW THE DATA.
AND I THINK THE C.D.C. DID HAVE GUIDELINES AND, YOU'RE RIGHT,
MANY STATES ARE REOPENING, EVEN THOUGH THE GUIDELINES ARE NOT
BEING FOLLOWED.
WE'RE IN THE OPPOSITE PLACE.
NEW YORK, THE NUMBERS ARE ALL GOING DOWN ON EVERY LEVEL.
MANY OF THE OTHER STATES, THE NUMBERS ARE STILL GOING UP, AND
THEY'RE REOPENING.
THAT NOT ONLY VIOLATES C.D.C.
GUIDELINES, THAT VIOLATES COMMON SENSE AND WE'RE NOT GOING TO DO
THAT.
WE ARE GOING TO FOLLOW THE DATA.
WE ARE ON THE WAY DOWN.
IN ABOUT A WEEK, YOU WILL SEE SOME REGIONS IN THE STATE WITH
LOWER NUMBERS STARTING TO REOPEN THEIR ECONOMIES AND THEN, AS
THOSE NUMBERS STABILIZE, YOU WILL SEE MORE ECONOMIC GROWTH.
>> Stephen: WELL, YOU MADE A GOOD POINT THAT, WHILE,
NATIONALLY, THERE MAY BE A FLATTENING OF THE CURVE, IF YOU
TAKE NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, CONNECTICUT, IF YOU TAKE THOSE
NUMBERS WHERE THE NUMBERS ARE GOING DOWN, IF YOU TAKE THAT OUT
OF THE EQUATION, FOR THE REST OF THE COUNTRY, WE'RE STILL GOING
UP.
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR THE OTHER GOVERNORS WHO ARE
GOVERNING STATES RIGHT NOW THAT DO NOT HAVE THE SAME CRISIS
LEVEL OF COVID INFECTIONS THAT NEW YORK EXPERIENCED BUT ARE IN
NO WAY EXEMPT FROM IT JUST BECAUSE IT HASN'T HAPPENED YET.
>> NO, STEPHEN, I THINK IT IS SHORT-TERM -- I UNDERSTAND THE
SHORT-TERM BENEFIT OF OPENING.
THE PRESSURE TO OPEN IS TREMENDOUS.
THE POLITICAL PRESSURE IS TREMENDOUS.
PEOPLE WANT OUT.
THEY WANT OUT OF THE HOME.
PEOPLE NEED A PAYCHECK, THEY WANT TO GET BACK TO WORK, THEY
WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A JOB.
I GET IT.
SO I UNDERSTAND THE SHORT-TERM PRESSURE.
BUT LONG TERM, WE HAVE SEEN WHAT HAS HAPPENED IN COUNTRIES THAT
OPEN TOO QUICKLY, AND THEN THEY WIND UP CLOSING AGAIN.
TO OPEN AND THEN CLOSE TWO WEEKS LATER OR THREE WEEKS LATER
BECAUSE THAT INFECTION RATE GOES THROUGH THE ROOF AGAIN MAKES NO
SENSE.
CALIBRATE THE OPENING AND DON'T OPEN UNTIL YOU HAVE THOSE
NUMBERS UNDER CONTROL.
NOW, YOU'RE RIGHT, NEW YORK, WE HAVE -- WE'RE ON THE DECLINE.
THE REST OF THE COUNTRY IS STILL ON THE INCLINE, WHEN YOU TAKE
OUT NEW YORK, AND IN ABOUT ONE WEEK, AGAIN, YOU WILL START TO
SEE SOME REGIONS OPEN, BUT I THINK IT IS A MISTAKE TO RESPOND
TO THE EMOTION WHEN YOU KNOW THE FACTS ARE SAYING SOMETHING
DIFFERENT.
SO I SUGGEST COMMUNICATE THE FACTS TO PEOPLE.
YOU KNOW, I QUOTED LINCOLN TODAY IN ONE OF MY PRESS BRIEFINGS.
LINCOLN REALLY BELIEVED IN THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, AND HE SAID, IF
YOU TELL THEM THE TRUTH, THEY WILL KEEP THE COUNTRY SAFE.
WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING ALL THROUGH THIS IS JUST GIVING
PEOPLE THE FACTS, RIGHT.
LAY OUT THE FACTS, AND THEY WILL DO THE RIGHT THING.
AND THAT'S WHAT WE'RE DOING IN NEW YORK, AND IT HAS WORKED.
>> Stephen: HOW IS THE COMMUNICATION AND THE
COOPERATION GONE BETWEEN THE -- I'M NOT SURE HOW MANY STATES IT
WAS IN THE NORTHEAST THAT YOU FORMED A SORT OF A COOPERATIVE
GROUP OF STATES, NEW YORK, NEW JERSEY, RHODE ISLAND,
CONNECTICUT -- >> DELAWARE, MASSACHUSETTS,
CONNECTICUT, YEAH.
WE HAVE ABOUT SEVEN STATES WE WORK WITH WHICH ARE ALL
BASICALLY CONTIGUOUS, RIGHT, AND IT MAKES SENSE BECAUSE THE VIRUS
DOESN'T STOP AT A STATE BOUNDARY, AND PEOPLE GET IN CARS
AND THEY DRIVE AND AMTRAK GOES THROUGH THESE STATES, SO WE'RE
COORDINATING THE BEST WE CAN OUR CLOSING POLICY AND OUR REOPENING
POLICY.
TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW WHAT EACH OTHER IS DOING BECAUSE, WHATEVER
ONE STATE DOES AFFECTS ANOTHER STATE, RIGHT?
WE'RE SEEING NOW SOME STATES THAT OPENED UP AND PEOPLE FROM
SURROUNDING STATES ARE NOW GOING TO THAT STATE.
IF CONNECTICUT OPENS UP BEACHES, YOU WILL SEE NEW YORKERS GOING
TO CONNECTICUT.
SO -- >> Stephen: GEORGIA ALLOWED
HAIRCUTS AND PEOPLE FLOODED INTO GEORGIA TO GET THEIR HAIRCUTS.
>> YOU HAVE SUCH A PENT-UP DEMAND, RIGHT.
PEOPLE WILL GO ANYWHERE.
PEOPLE WILL GO IN THE CAR FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS JUST TO GET OUT
OF THE HOUSE.
>> Stephen: SPEAKING OF HAIRCUTS, YOUR BROTHER CHRIS GOT
A VERY SHORT HAIRCUT.
SERIOUS QUESTION, I THOUGHT DOG GROOMERS WERE ALL CLOSED IN
NEW YORK.
>> WELL, WHERE HE WENT WAS EVEN WORSE THAN GOING TO A DOG
GROOMER.
HE HAD THE COVID VIRUS.
HE THEN GAVE HIS WIFE THE COVID VIRUS.
>> Stephen: OH, NO.
HE WAS QUARANTINED IN THE BASEMENT, SHE WAS QUARANTINED
UPSTAIRS.
AFTER HE GAVE HER THE COVID VIRUS, HE TOLD ME THAT SHE
FORGAVE HIM.
HE THEN GAVE HER THE SHEARS TO CUT HIS HAIR.
AND SHE CUT HIS HAIR LIKE DELILAH CUT SAMSON'S HAIR, AND
SHE GAVE IT ALL BACK TO HIM.
SO THAT WAS A PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE, STILL ANGRY HAIRCUT.
HE HAS A SHORTER HAIRCUT, I TOLD HIM IT'S LIKE A PRISON HAIRCUT.
>> Stephen: EXACTLY.
HE'S GOT A SLIGHTLY INSTITUTIONALIZED FEELING TO IT.
HE HAS SHOELACES STILL.
>> OH, YEAH.
>> Stephen: BACK WITH MORE GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO.
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