New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday indicated his family was planning an atypical holiday gathering this week, but he still planned to host his mother for the festivities.
“This is not a normal Thanksgiving,” Cuomo said during a press conference on Monday, noting the state has seen the number of hospitalizations climb 122% over the past three weeks.
He warned that these statistics reflected a period before people got together and potentially disregarded protocol to celebrate the holidays, which he deemed the highest socialization period of the year.
Cuomo said that his daughter Mariah, who is in Chicago, decided it would be too “risky” for her to come back to New York for the holiday, acknowledging that there could be a lag between when a person is infected with the virus and when he or she tests positive.
He said, however, during a radio interview on Monday that two of his other daughters and his 89-year-old mother would be celebrating the holiday in Albany.
“My mom is going to come up and two of my girls – is the current plan,” Cuomo said. “But the plans change, but that’s my plan. But I’m going to work – I have a lot of work to do between now and Thanksgiving.”
CLICK HERE TO GET COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE
The governor recommended that gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people, which it would appear his family was abiding by. Neither his mother nor his daughters live with him full-time.
A spokesperson for Cuomo said in an emailed statement to Fox News on Monday that the plans have been in the works for weeks, but were fluid, when asked about whether Cuomo was concerned for his mother’s health given his busy work schedule.
“As the governor said, he had been discussing seeing his mother with two of his daughters for a four-person Thanksgiving in accordance with all state issued guidance, but as he also said the plans were still changing and given the current circumstances with COVID, he will have to work through Thanksgiving and will not be seeing them,” Cuomo’s spokesperson said. “Don’t tell his mom – she doesn’t know yet.”
Risk of severe coronavirus infection increases with age, with the greatest risk among those aged 85 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his family were quarantining this week after potential exposure to someone with the virus. Newsom came under fire for attending a dinner with dozens of others indoors, where attendees did not appear to be wearing masks.
