CORONA VIRUS CANCELLATIONS SO FAR
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Jesus Henry Christ
Best Buy stores close over coronavirus threat, employee hours will be paid
Stop wondering which Best Buy stores are open at what hours, as the retailer shutters every physical place and moves to safer delivery and pickup options.www.phonearena.com
Israeli doctor in Italy: No. of patients rises but we get to everyone
Dr. Gai Peleg told Israeli television that in northern Italy, patients over 60 tend to receive less treatment with anesthesia and artificial respiratory machines.
www.jpost.com
I'm posting the ultimate cancellations!
wegotthiscovered.com
Marvel Might Drop Evangeline Lilly From The MCU After Coronavirus Comments
Marvel Studios are reportedly considering dropping Evangeline Lilly following the actress' highly-publicized comments about the Coronavirus.
wegotthiscovered.com
Coronavirus cancellations and reactions in sports
Here's a look at how the coronavirus is affecting sports in the U.S. and around the world.
Marvel Might Drop Evangeline Lilly From The MCU After Coronavirus Comments
Marvel Studios are reportedly considering dropping Evangeline Lilly following the actress' highly-publicized comments about the Coronavirus.
Evangeline Lilly refuses to self-isolate because she 'values freedom'
Avengers star Evangeline Lily told her fans on Monday that she is refusing to self-isolate because she values 'freedom' and dismissed the coronavirus pandemic as a 'respiratory flu'.
Sophie Turner shades Evangeline Lilly for refusing to self-isolate
Game Of Thrones star Sophie Turner had harsh words for Evangeline Lilly on Friday as she urged her fans to socially distance and self-quarantine to fight the coronavirus outbreak.
Governor Cuomo Issues Guidance on Essential Services Under The 'New York State on PAUSE' Executive Order
Governor Cuomo announced he is signing the "New York State on PAUSE" executive order, a 10-point policy to assure uniform safety for everyone.
Coronavirus in N.Y.C.: The Latest
Demetrius Freeman for The New York Times
The Times’s Katie Van Syckle writes:
Governor Cuomo disclosed new statistics yesterday indicating that the New York City region had roughly 5 percent of the coronavirus cases worldwide.
The surge in the number of cases in New York stems from both the rapid growth of the outbreak and the significantly increased testing in the state. Health officials emphasized that testing was revealing how quickly the coronavirus had spread.
[The New York region is now an epicenter of a global pandemic.]
As of yesterday, there were more than 15,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the state, up nearly 5,000 since Saturday, and more than 120 deaths.
Late Sunday, the city released stark new figures that showed 1,800 people hospitalized, including 450 in intensive care units. All told, the city reported 10,764 positive cases of coronavirus, with more than 3,000 cases each in Brooklyn and Queens. There had been 99 fatalities.
Here’s what else you need to know:
The governor took issue with what he called the “insensitive” and “arrogant” behavior of New York City residents who were continuing to gather in parks and other public spaces. Mr. Cuomo indicated yesterday that he would give the city 24 hours to come up with a plan to reduce density in these spaces, which he would need to approve.
“I don’t know what I’m saying that people don’t get,” Mr. Cuomo said, suggesting that city officials could close some streets to traffic to give residents more outdoor space.Mayor de Blasio warned that the health care system was straining under the deluge of cases, and he again called on President Trump to send more help.
“April is going to be worse than March,” he said. “And I fear May will be worse than April.”
Mr. Cuomo said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would build four hospitals with 1,000 total beds at the sprawling Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Midtown Manhattan.
The governor also said that he supported continued testing for the virus, and that the state had secured from the federal government trial drugs that it would begin testing tomorrow.
The New York City police commissioner said 98 people in the Police Department, including 70 uniformed officers, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
In New Jersey, officials announced 590 new coronavirus cases yesterday, bringing the statewide total to 1,914, including 20 deaths.
Demetrius Freeman for The New York Times
The Times’s Katie Van Syckle writes:
Governor Cuomo disclosed new statistics yesterday indicating that the New York City region had roughly 5 percent of the coronavirus cases worldwide.
The surge in the number of cases in New York stems from both the rapid growth of the outbreak and the significantly increased testing in the state. Health officials emphasized that testing was revealing how quickly the coronavirus had spread.
[The New York region is now an epicenter of a global pandemic.]
As of yesterday, there were more than 15,000 confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the state, up nearly 5,000 since Saturday, and more than 120 deaths.
Late Sunday, the city released stark new figures that showed 1,800 people hospitalized, including 450 in intensive care units. All told, the city reported 10,764 positive cases of coronavirus, with more than 3,000 cases each in Brooklyn and Queens. There had been 99 fatalities.
Here’s what else you need to know:
The governor took issue with what he called the “insensitive” and “arrogant” behavior of New York City residents who were continuing to gather in parks and other public spaces. Mr. Cuomo indicated yesterday that he would give the city 24 hours to come up with a plan to reduce density in these spaces, which he would need to approve.
“I don’t know what I’m saying that people don’t get,” Mr. Cuomo said, suggesting that city officials could close some streets to traffic to give residents more outdoor space.Mayor de Blasio warned that the health care system was straining under the deluge of cases, and he again called on President Trump to send more help.
“April is going to be worse than March,” he said. “And I fear May will be worse than April.”
Mr. Cuomo said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would build four hospitals with 1,000 total beds at the sprawling Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Midtown Manhattan.
The governor also said that he supported continued testing for the virus, and that the state had secured from the federal government trial drugs that it would begin testing tomorrow.
The New York City police commissioner said 98 people in the Police Department, including 70 uniformed officers, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
In New Jersey, officials announced 590 new coronavirus cases yesterday, bringing the statewide total to 1,914, including 20 deaths.
Late fees waived, free Wi-Fi hot spots and more offered by cellphone providers in response to COVID-19
How AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and Sprint are offering relief to customers
www.theindychannel.com
Amazon makes Prime Video kids' shows available for free to all users
By Tyler Aquilina
March 23, 2020 at 01:45 PM EDT
As we enter another week of the Great Coronavirus Quarantine, Amazon is doing its part to help occupy your kids while you work from home.
Amazon has lifted its Prime Video paywall for a select group of kids' TV shows available on its streaming platform, with both original and acquired series now free for all users with or without a Prime subscription. (A free Amazon.com account is still required for viewing.) Titles include Amazon's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Pete the Cat, and Costume Quest, and PBS Kids shows such as Arthur and Caillou.
EVERETT COLLECTION
Millions of families are currently confined to their homes as schools and workplaces nationwide have closed amid the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19. As measures to help reign in the virus' spread have intensified, studios have been making more and more content available for home viewing. Disney released Frozen II on its own streaming platform, Disney+, months ahead of schedule, and will do the same for Pixar's Onward, while numerous films will hit VOD and digital platforms early, including DreamWorks' Trolls World Tour. And if you need more suggestions for family-friendly viewing — particularly titles that won't drive you up the wall — EW has you covered.
By Tyler Aquilina
March 23, 2020 at 01:45 PM EDT
As we enter another week of the Great Coronavirus Quarantine, Amazon is doing its part to help occupy your kids while you work from home.
Amazon has lifted its Prime Video paywall for a select group of kids' TV shows available on its streaming platform, with both original and acquired series now free for all users with or without a Prime subscription. (A free Amazon.com account is still required for viewing.) Titles include Amazon's If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, Pete the Cat, and Costume Quest, and PBS Kids shows such as Arthur and Caillou.
EVERETT COLLECTION
Millions of families are currently confined to their homes as schools and workplaces nationwide have closed amid the ongoing outbreak of COVID-19. As measures to help reign in the virus' spread have intensified, studios have been making more and more content available for home viewing. Disney released Frozen II on its own streaming platform, Disney+, months ahead of schedule, and will do the same for Pixar's Onward, while numerous films will hit VOD and digital platforms early, including DreamWorks' Trolls World Tour. And if you need more suggestions for family-friendly viewing — particularly titles that won't drive you up the wall — EW has you covered.
Uh huh
thought so....
he gained my respect , majorly
its on hold with no new release date yet.
Senate approves historic $2 trillion stimulus deal amid growing coronavirus fears
The Senate on Wednesday approved a historic, $2 trillion stimulus package to provide a jolt to an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, capping days of intense negotiations that produced one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures Congress has ever considered.
www.cnn.com
The stimulus bill also has a provision that would block President Donald Trump and his family, as well as other top government officials and members of Congress, from getting loans or investments from Treasury programs in the stimulus, according to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office.
Interesting. So it will be based off your 2018 income tax returns.Senate approves historic $2 trillion stimulus deal amid growing coronavirus fears
The Senate on Wednesday approved a historic, $2 trillion stimulus package to provide a jolt to an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, capping days of intense negotiations that produced one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures Congress has ever considered.
The stimulus bill also has a provision that would block President Donald Trump and his family, as well as other top government officials and members of Congress, from getting loans or investments from Treasury programs in the stimulus, according to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office.
Damn.... So many people out of work. Shit is sad.
CRAZY...
but these white male billionaires BETTER be careful..
no sports etc to distract the sheep.
They SOON gonna stop fighting EACH other
and the sheep gonna have a very brief moment of clarity
and start slowly looking up at that big house on the hill and wonder..
What we fighting EACH OTHER FOR?
When THEY got EVERYTHING?
YouTube joins Netflix in reducing video quality in Europe
YouTube is reducing the quality of its videos in Europe, as an increase in home usage strains the continent’s internet during the novel coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports. “We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default,” the company said in a statement.
The decision comes after EU industry chief Thierry Breton called on streaming platforms to help reduce their load on the continent’s infrastructure. Internet traffic is increasing as more people spend time at home in line with social-distancing guidelines during the pandemic. There are fears about the strain this could place on the internet’s infrastructure, and cause further disruption to remote workers and e-learning activities now that businesses and schools have been shuttered.
“WE ARE MAKING A COMMITMENT TO TEMPORARILY SWITCH ALL TRAFFIC IN THE EU TO STANDARD DEFINITION BY DEFAULT”
The decision follows Netflix’s announcement that it will reduce the bitrate of its streams for 30 days, in an attempt to lower its network traffic by 25 percent. Video streaming is a major source of internet traffic, BBC News notes, alongside game downloads, while remote-work technologies like webmail and video-conferencing are thought to place relatively less strain on networks.
However, internet providers have stressed that their networks have enough headroom to handle the increased demand. British telecoms provider BT recently put out a statement in which it said that while weekday daytime traffic has increased by between 35 and 60 percent, it is still half of average evening peak usage, and “nowhere near” its network’s full capacity. Vodafone and TalkTalk, which also provide services to UK households, gave similar assurances to BBC News despite also seeing increases in web traffic.
www.theverge.com
YouTube is reducing the quality of its videos in Europe, as an increase in home usage strains the continent’s internet during the novel coronavirus outbreak, Reuters reports. “We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default,” the company said in a statement.
The decision comes after EU industry chief Thierry Breton called on streaming platforms to help reduce their load on the continent’s infrastructure. Internet traffic is increasing as more people spend time at home in line with social-distancing guidelines during the pandemic. There are fears about the strain this could place on the internet’s infrastructure, and cause further disruption to remote workers and e-learning activities now that businesses and schools have been shuttered.
“WE ARE MAKING A COMMITMENT TO TEMPORARILY SWITCH ALL TRAFFIC IN THE EU TO STANDARD DEFINITION BY DEFAULT”
The decision follows Netflix’s announcement that it will reduce the bitrate of its streams for 30 days, in an attempt to lower its network traffic by 25 percent. Video streaming is a major source of internet traffic, BBC News notes, alongside game downloads, while remote-work technologies like webmail and video-conferencing are thought to place relatively less strain on networks.
However, internet providers have stressed that their networks have enough headroom to handle the increased demand. British telecoms provider BT recently put out a statement in which it said that while weekday daytime traffic has increased by between 35 and 60 percent, it is still half of average evening peak usage, and “nowhere near” its network’s full capacity. Vodafone and TalkTalk, which also provide services to UK households, gave similar assurances to BBC News despite also seeing increases in web traffic.
YouTube joins Netflix in reducing video quality in Europe
‘We are making a commitment to temporarily switch all traffic in the EU to standard definition by default’
www.theverge.com
He doesn't get my respect for doing what he should have known to do in the first place.
Jodie Whittaker's 'Doctor Who' time traveler urges people to 'be kind' and 'listen to science'
The titular hero of Doctor Who tends to turn up when humanity finds itself in the direst of straits. So, it makes sense that Jodie…
Oprah says she's making Stedman self-quarantine in their guest house
By Tyler Aquilina
March 24, 2020 at 02:31 PM EDT
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BIANCA DEL RIO AND LADY BUNNY HOST THE RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE WERQ THE WORLD LIVE CONCERT
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Talk about some social distancing.
In an Instagram Live conversation with the editor of O, The Oprah Magazine on Monday, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she's making her longtime partner, Stedman Graham, self-quarantine in their guest house for the time being. Rest assured, it's all in the interest of health and safety.
"I had pneumonia late last year...I had just gotten off of antibiotics last week, because I had a bronchial infection," Winfrey explained on the livestream. She noted that Graham was "late to the party" in terms of understanding the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, and had just recently returned to their home in Santa Barbara after a speaking engagement.
"Stedman did not arrive from Chicago until Thursday, he had been speaking in St. Louis...he'd been on planes, so Stedman is like 'What's the procedure for coming home?' The procedure is...you ain't coming and sleeping in my bed!" Winfrey said. "And literally, he goes, 'I'm not?' And I go, 'Have you not been paying attention to the news? Social distancing doesn't mean you go and sleep in the same bed with the person! When you just got off American Airlines!'"
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MICHAEL KOVAC/GETTY IMAGES
Winfrey added that Stedman does not have the coronavirus, and that she has been leaving him meals on the doorstep. The couple also converse from a distance, as you can see in the Instagram video below.
"My friends say 'Oh, isn't Stedman upset?' He's really not. He's happy to keep me safe," Winfrey said.
Winfrey also discussed how she's been keeping busy during the quarantine; her quaran-streaming picks include The Crown and Self Made, starring Octavia Spencer as Madam C.J. Walker. She's also been reading potential Oprah's Book Club picks, attending DJ D-Nice's digital quarantine dance party, and working on her new Apple TV+ show Oprah Talks. She also shared a bit of classically Oprah inspiration for everyone worried about the ongoing pandemic.
"You will come out stronger if you choose to come out stronger," Winfrey said. "You will come out stronger if you actually get the lessons from it. If you think it's just about a virus...it's not. It's about the forces of life trying to tell us about ourselves. Whatever it is you're feeling, it's because you're supposed to be feeling it. Whatever this is putting you through, you needed this moment, and it was the only moment that could bring us to this realization. I'm looking at it from the bigger picture."
Hopefully Stedman is, too.
By Tyler Aquilina
March 24, 2020 at 02:31 PM EDT
SaveFBTweetMore
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Loaded: 83.34%
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YOU MIGHT LIKE
BIANCA DEL RIO AND LADY BUNNY HOST THE RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE WERQ THE WORLD LIVE CONCERT
×
Talk about some social distancing.
In an Instagram Live conversation with the editor of O, The Oprah Magazine on Monday, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she's making her longtime partner, Stedman Graham, self-quarantine in their guest house for the time being. Rest assured, it's all in the interest of health and safety.
"I had pneumonia late last year...I had just gotten off of antibiotics last week, because I had a bronchial infection," Winfrey explained on the livestream. She noted that Graham was "late to the party" in terms of understanding the severity of the coronavirus outbreak, and had just recently returned to their home in Santa Barbara after a speaking engagement.
"Stedman did not arrive from Chicago until Thursday, he had been speaking in St. Louis...he'd been on planes, so Stedman is like 'What's the procedure for coming home?' The procedure is...you ain't coming and sleeping in my bed!" Winfrey said. "And literally, he goes, 'I'm not?' And I go, 'Have you not been paying attention to the news? Social distancing doesn't mean you go and sleep in the same bed with the person! When you just got off American Airlines!'"
ADVERTISING
Ads by Teads
MICHAEL KOVAC/GETTY IMAGES
Winfrey added that Stedman does not have the coronavirus, and that she has been leaving him meals on the doorstep. The couple also converse from a distance, as you can see in the Instagram video below.
"My friends say 'Oh, isn't Stedman upset?' He's really not. He's happy to keep me safe," Winfrey said.
Winfrey also discussed how she's been keeping busy during the quarantine; her quaran-streaming picks include The Crown and Self Made, starring Octavia Spencer as Madam C.J. Walker. She's also been reading potential Oprah's Book Club picks, attending DJ D-Nice's digital quarantine dance party, and working on her new Apple TV+ show Oprah Talks. She also shared a bit of classically Oprah inspiration for everyone worried about the ongoing pandemic.
"You will come out stronger if you choose to come out stronger," Winfrey said. "You will come out stronger if you actually get the lessons from it. If you think it's just about a virus...it's not. It's about the forces of life trying to tell us about ourselves. Whatever it is you're feeling, it's because you're supposed to be feeling it. Whatever this is putting you through, you needed this moment, and it was the only moment that could bring us to this realization. I'm looking at it from the bigger picture."
Hopefully Stedman is, too.
that guest house gatta be a block
Senate approves historic $2 trillion stimulus deal amid growing coronavirus fears
The Senate on Wednesday approved a historic, $2 trillion stimulus package to provide a jolt to an economy reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, capping days of intense negotiations that produced one of the most expensive and far-reaching measures Congress has ever considered.
The stimulus bill also has a provision that would block President Donald Trump and his family, as well as other top government officials and members of Congress, from getting loans or investments from Treasury programs in the stimulus, according to Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office.
ITS ONLY A MATTER OF TIME
Andrew Cuomo’s Daily Press Briefing Is the Most Important Show on TV
By Jen Chaney@chaneyj
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, America’s new Dad. Photo: PBS News Hour/YouTube
The most comforting show on television right now is not This Is Us or The Great British Baking Show. It’s the daily coronavirus briefing broadcast every morning by New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
Since the COVID-19 shutdowns began, Cuomo has regularly appeared in front of cameras to provide the latest statistics on the outbreak, as well as the steps that he and state government officials are taking to address the crisis. None of that sounds like a recipe for great, or even mildly interesting, television. But because we live in such supremely odd times — and because the president of the United States is a babbling falsehood machine — these daily briefings have become indispensable. At a moment when Americans are desperate to see someone take control of this awful situation, the governor of the nation’s hardest hit state has stepped into the role.
The presentation of each press briefing is efficient and tailored to the socially distanced moment. Cuomo and everyone else on the dais sit six feet apart, as do the journalists in the room. The air of the whole operation says: “Do what I say, as well as what I do.” When he isn’t wearing a suit, he’s in a button-down shirt or tailored polo with the New York State seal emblazoned on it. If Americans need a dad right now, Cuomo is dressing like a father in Great Neck who just got back from Home Depot and announced that he’s going to fix the damn dishwasher himself.
The sudden appreciation of a politician who has often inspired the opposite sentiment, especially among New Yorkers, is a surprise in and of itself. Jezebel writer Rebecca Fishbein wrote a recent column with a headline that summarizes how many are feeling: “Help, I Think I’m in Love With Andrew Cuomo???” The governor responded by calling Fishbein to tell her to hang in there, because that’s exactly what America’s Coronavirus Dad is supposed to do. Even the New York Times is an admirer: Earlier this week, Times reporters Jesse McKinley and Shane Goldmacher called him “the politician of the moment” and dubbed his daily briefings “must-see television.” In the 1990s, must-see TV meant Seinfeld and Friends. In 2020, it’s a press conference in which a governor talks about ventilators.
There are a bunch of reasons for that. Every day, Cuomo is sharing crucial information that people crave. He’s a regular presence at a specific time, which helps viewers establish a routine while they’re stuck in isolation. But on a deeper level, the briefings are compelling because of how Cuomo approaches each broadcast like a storyteller. He doesn’t get behind a lectern and spit out information in a flat monotone, like other leaders in other parts of the country have been doing. Unlike the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings, which are rambling, plotless affairs led by a commander-in-chief with little command of anything, Cuomo’s briefings are structured and polished, yet personal. At Tuesday’s briefing, for example, he introduced two generals from the National Guard, then added a little dad joke with a gentle smile: “I’m Private Cuomo, but I’ll be your governor today.”
The governor has been in government long enough to know what people need to hear at a time like this, but he also seems acutely aware that what he’s telling us is hard to digest. On Thursday morning, he kicked things off by talking about facts. “Facts can be uplifting, they can be depressing at times, they can be confusing at times, but they can be empowering,” he said, before digging into sobering details about the number of overflow hospitals New York needs to build. Of course, we all know that facts can be uplifting, depressing, confusing, or empowering. But by starting from a soft place, he was able to transition to a harder one in a way that felt less harsh.
Cuomo has made his briefings more personal by talking about his family: how he’s concerned for his elderly mother, or how he used to feel cooped up in his apartment when his kids were young. (This morning, he related to parents again by noting that children are facing national adversity in a way they haven’t before, but that doing so may build character.) He genuinely seems to care about his family and other families, which should be a given. But when other politicians are suggesting we should sacrifice our grandparents for the sake of getting the economy up and running — a proposal known as The Volunteer Pop-Pop As Tribute Plan — those givens no longer apply.
Publicly, he has displayed the gamut of emotions most of us are experiencing privately in our homes. He has expressed concern. He’s gotten angry. “What am I going to do with 400 ventilators when I need 30,000?” he asked of the federal government during Tuesday’s briefing. “You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators.” He’s even gotten a little mushy. During Wednesday’s briefing, he talked about how the density of New York City, which makes it especially vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, should still be seen as a positive: “Our closeness is what makes us special … It is also that closeness and that connection and that humanity and that sharing that is our greatest strength, and that is what is going to overcome at the end of the day. I promise you that.” Does that sound like something President Bartlet might have said in a really treacly West Wing episode? Sure. But we need a strong and sturdy cornball right now.
If you’ve ever taught children or raised them, you know that they depend on routines to feel safe and protected. Our routines have been destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic, and so has our broader sense of safety. That makes all of us, even the grown-ups, feel as vulnerable as little kids do. We will cling to anything that suggests someone has got our backs, and anything that provides a sense of consistency.
Andrew Cuomo has been providing both. He is honest and direct in what he says in these briefings, but he also drops in uplifting messages about what to take away from the unreality everyone is plodding their way through each day. Day by day, he’s making an incomprehensible disaster a little easier to understand. Is he Mister Rogers? Um, no. Very hard no. But he’s the closest thing we have.
By Jen Chaney@chaneyj
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, America’s new Dad. Photo: PBS News Hour/YouTube
The most comforting show on television right now is not This Is Us or The Great British Baking Show. It’s the daily coronavirus briefing broadcast every morning by New York governor Andrew Cuomo.
Since the COVID-19 shutdowns began, Cuomo has regularly appeared in front of cameras to provide the latest statistics on the outbreak, as well as the steps that he and state government officials are taking to address the crisis. None of that sounds like a recipe for great, or even mildly interesting, television. But because we live in such supremely odd times — and because the president of the United States is a babbling falsehood machine — these daily briefings have become indispensable. At a moment when Americans are desperate to see someone take control of this awful situation, the governor of the nation’s hardest hit state has stepped into the role.
The presentation of each press briefing is efficient and tailored to the socially distanced moment. Cuomo and everyone else on the dais sit six feet apart, as do the journalists in the room. The air of the whole operation says: “Do what I say, as well as what I do.” When he isn’t wearing a suit, he’s in a button-down shirt or tailored polo with the New York State seal emblazoned on it. If Americans need a dad right now, Cuomo is dressing like a father in Great Neck who just got back from Home Depot and announced that he’s going to fix the damn dishwasher himself.
The sudden appreciation of a politician who has often inspired the opposite sentiment, especially among New Yorkers, is a surprise in and of itself. Jezebel writer Rebecca Fishbein wrote a recent column with a headline that summarizes how many are feeling: “Help, I Think I’m in Love With Andrew Cuomo???” The governor responded by calling Fishbein to tell her to hang in there, because that’s exactly what America’s Coronavirus Dad is supposed to do. Even the New York Times is an admirer: Earlier this week, Times reporters Jesse McKinley and Shane Goldmacher called him “the politician of the moment” and dubbed his daily briefings “must-see television.” In the 1990s, must-see TV meant Seinfeld and Friends. In 2020, it’s a press conference in which a governor talks about ventilators.
There are a bunch of reasons for that. Every day, Cuomo is sharing crucial information that people crave. He’s a regular presence at a specific time, which helps viewers establish a routine while they’re stuck in isolation. But on a deeper level, the briefings are compelling because of how Cuomo approaches each broadcast like a storyteller. He doesn’t get behind a lectern and spit out information in a flat monotone, like other leaders in other parts of the country have been doing. Unlike the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings, which are rambling, plotless affairs led by a commander-in-chief with little command of anything, Cuomo’s briefings are structured and polished, yet personal. At Tuesday’s briefing, for example, he introduced two generals from the National Guard, then added a little dad joke with a gentle smile: “I’m Private Cuomo, but I’ll be your governor today.”
The governor has been in government long enough to know what people need to hear at a time like this, but he also seems acutely aware that what he’s telling us is hard to digest. On Thursday morning, he kicked things off by talking about facts. “Facts can be uplifting, they can be depressing at times, they can be confusing at times, but they can be empowering,” he said, before digging into sobering details about the number of overflow hospitals New York needs to build. Of course, we all know that facts can be uplifting, depressing, confusing, or empowering. But by starting from a soft place, he was able to transition to a harder one in a way that felt less harsh.
Cuomo has made his briefings more personal by talking about his family: how he’s concerned for his elderly mother, or how he used to feel cooped up in his apartment when his kids were young. (This morning, he related to parents again by noting that children are facing national adversity in a way they haven’t before, but that doing so may build character.) He genuinely seems to care about his family and other families, which should be a given. But when other politicians are suggesting we should sacrifice our grandparents for the sake of getting the economy up and running — a proposal known as The Volunteer Pop-Pop As Tribute Plan — those givens no longer apply.
Publicly, he has displayed the gamut of emotions most of us are experiencing privately in our homes. He has expressed concern. He’s gotten angry. “What am I going to do with 400 ventilators when I need 30,000?” he asked of the federal government during Tuesday’s briefing. “You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die because you only sent 400 ventilators.” He’s even gotten a little mushy. During Wednesday’s briefing, he talked about how the density of New York City, which makes it especially vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19, should still be seen as a positive: “Our closeness is what makes us special … It is also that closeness and that connection and that humanity and that sharing that is our greatest strength, and that is what is going to overcome at the end of the day. I promise you that.” Does that sound like something President Bartlet might have said in a really treacly West Wing episode? Sure. But we need a strong and sturdy cornball right now.
If you’ve ever taught children or raised them, you know that they depend on routines to feel safe and protected. Our routines have been destroyed by the coronavirus pandemic, and so has our broader sense of safety. That makes all of us, even the grown-ups, feel as vulnerable as little kids do. We will cling to anything that suggests someone has got our backs, and anything that provides a sense of consistency.
Andrew Cuomo has been providing both. He is honest and direct in what he says in these briefings, but he also drops in uplifting messages about what to take away from the unreality everyone is plodding their way through each day. Day by day, he’s making an incomprehensible disaster a little easier to understand. Is he Mister Rogers? Um, no. Very hard no. But he’s the closest thing we have.
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