Cuomo Urging Private Employers To Reopen NYC Offices [POLL]

NEW YORK — Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like we were seeing the end of the new coronavirus pandemic. Masks were coming off and people were beginning to repopulate favorite restaurants, movie houses and stores.

Now, with the rise of the delta variant all across the United States, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending people who have completed the COVID-19 vaccine series to wear masks indoors in public "if you are in an area of substantial or high transmission," one can be forgiven for wondering if we are going forward or backward in fighting the virus.

During a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said new cases of the coronavirus were up more than 700 percent in New York over the past month.

He was calling for "aggressive" action and mandating all state employees be vaccinated or face regular testing. And if you are a patient-facing employee at a state-run hospital, you must be vaccinated with no option for testing.

Cuomo also said on Wednesday that he was afraid that the revival taking place in New York City will stall if private employers don't get their workers back in the offices.

"People are going to have to want to come back to work," he said, "and they're going to have to want to come back to New York City."

Speaking to the private sector, Cuomo said they have to help drive the recovery.

"We need private sector companies to say to their employees I need you back in the office," he said. "Remote working for short period of time, fine, but that's not how the entrepreneurial economy works."

Now it's your turn to weigh in on the issue. Vote in our unscientific poll and tell us what you think in the comments.