Health & Fitness
Cuomo To Youths In NYC Parks: I'm Coming For You Over Coronavirus
"This is a public health issue and you cannot endanger other people's health," said Cuomo, who planned to visit crowded NYC parks Saturday.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Now might not be the best time for twenty-somethings to get together with friends in a New York City park in defiance of social distancing guidelines. They just might run into an angry Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Cuomo took a minute out of a wide-ranging Saturday press conference on the new coronavirus to call out young people for not complying with steps to stop the virus' spread.
The issue is particularly bad in New York City's parks, he said.
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"I'm going to go down there today, I want to see what the situation is myself," he said. "But it has to be stopped because you are endangering people."
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New York is on the eve of a "stay-at-home" order Cuomo issued that restricts people from leaving their homes except to buy groceries, medical supplies and individual exercise.
It's one of several restrictive measures handed down across the country aimed at slowing the spread of COVID-19 through social distancing.
But the concept of limiting social contact has been part of everyday conversation and public officials' urgings for weeks now.
Last weekend, Prospect Park's fields, paths and trails were teeming with people. A Patch reporter noted the crowds on his personal Instagram with the caption "Lot of social distancing going on."
Apparently everyone’s answer in Brooklyn is to go to Prospect Park...so now it’s stupid crowded. I worry we’re going to see Italy-like growth until we really lock down (parks closed and curfews, etc), and I don’t know if the city can handle that more than a few weeks
— Lucas (@LucasToGo) March 21, 2020
Cuomo said young people may think they're immune to coronavirus, but they're not. People ages 18 to 49 account for 54 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, he said.
"So you're not Superman and you're not Superwoman, you can get this virus," he said. "And you can transfer the virus and you can wind up hurting someone who you love or hurting someone wholly inadvertently.
"This is a public health issue and you cannot endanger other people’s health."
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