Gov. Cuomo ends over 100 days of coronavirus briefings with tribute to himself
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo wrapped up 111 consecutive days of coronavirus briefings Friday with a self-congratulatory address — with no reporters — from his State Capitol office that ended with a tribute to … himself.
“Don’t worry — I’m not going anywhere,” Cuomo said from behind his desk in Albany. “I will still do what I do, we just don’t have to do it every day and that’s a good thing and let’s hope it stays that way.”
Cuomo cheered the state’s fight against COVID-19, saying hospitalizations and infection rates were at all-time lows — while waxing poetic about love.
“We showed that in the end, love does win. Love does conquer all — that no matter how dark the day, love brings the light,” he said. “That is what I will take from the past 111 days. And it inspires me and energizes me and excites me.”
The press briefing — which was held with no members of the press present and so without the question-and-answer sessions that have marked nearly all of his other 110 briefings — lasted all of 10 minutes and was capped with a campaign-like video montage of soundbites and photos from previous Cuomo pressers.
“New York loves everyone. That’s why I love New York,” he says in the video.
It ended with the message: “Remember: Tomorrow is Saturday” — a reference to Cuomo’s daily PowerPoint presentations.
On Thursday, Cuomo bade farewell to the press corps ahead of his final day, praising those who have tirelessly covered the COVID-19 pandemic from all parts of the state.
He gave his first briefing on March 2 in Manhattan with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio a day after the state recorded its first coronavirus case.
The majority of the press conferences were held in Albany thereafter — and some featured guests, including his three daughters, his CNN anchor brother, Chris, and celebrities like Rosie Perez, Chris Rock and Sean Penn.
The governor said he still plans on holding press conferences as needed — and in anticipation of a “second wave” — but right now the state has reached the “other side of the mountain” in regards to taming the pandemic.