Watch live: New York Gov. Cuomo briefs the press on Covid pandemic as state distributes vaccines
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New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is scheduled to hold a press briefing Friday on the Covid vaccine distribution plans as the threat of another economic shutdown looms over the state.
During a press briefing on Wednesday, Cuomo warned that nonessential businesses may be forced to close again early next year if the state doesn’t clamp down on escalating coronavirus cases. Whether the state imposes an economic lockdown again, however, depends on what New Yorkers do over the remaining holidays and whether new Covid-19 infections decline or grow, he said.
“Of course a shutdown in January is possible,” Cuomo said at a news conference in Albany. “But there’s a big but,” he said, spelling the word out one letter at a time “B-U-T.”
New York is responding to a surge of Covid-19 cases higher than the levels reported in the spring, averaging roughly 10,914 new infections every day over the last week, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Read CNBC’s live updates to see the latest news on the Covid-19 outbreak.