Delivering a virtual “State of the State” message this year, Governor Andrew Cuomo says he’s confident New York will build back stronger than it was before following the coronavirus pandemic.
The governor says the question is what New York will make of the crisis and how to turn it around. He laid out a seven-point plan that begins with beating COVID-19 by vaccinating 70 percent or more of the state’s population as quickly as possible. Next comes dealing with the state’s short-term debt crisis caused by the pandemic supressing tax revenues. It’s a $15 billion deficit.
The governor says we then need to plan for the state’s economic resurgence and to safely reopen the economy. Finally the governor wants to make New York a global leader in the shift to green energy and make it first in the nation to anticipate how COVID will change society and to benefit from those changes.
The governor said he will hold additional briefings over the coming days on how he plans to deal with each specific topic simultaneously.
On COVID, Governor Cuomo said he plans to introduce a Public Health Corps to build up the state’s Public Health System after learning the lessons of the coronavirus. He says they want to train and certify 10,000 emergency health volunteers who could be available in a future pandemic.