Bo
Your lack of understanding and/or seeming intentional ignorance of NYC and how it is demographically different than other cities (SF, LA) is child-like. And your deflection of facts is disingenuous.
I've lived in Manhattan. I've lived in Brooklyn. I grew up 45 minutes outside NYC. I know the area very well.
NYC is maybe the most traveled to city in the world,Then again, maybe not. Ever looked at a world atlas? NYC is far from everywhere.
London & Paris get more incoming traffic than NYC (and I'm pretty sure their case and death load were significantly less). NYC is 8th in world lists.
Hong Kong has the distinction of most traveled to city, and is as densely populated, reliant on public transport, etc. as NYC. And HK happened to be pretty damned close to the original central China outbreak, which no one knew much of anything about at the time HK was threatened (Jan/Feb).
The result: HK had a total of 1,103 infections and 4 deaths.So tell me again how NYC is so unique and the virus was so inevitable ...and it was infected for weeks and never knew it until the virus had spread. And then it exploded in a city that is massively populated, densely populated and hugely reliant on mass transportation, from a huge tri-state region. It had all the ingredients needed for quick and massive transmission. When the first outbreak was spotted north of NYC the city New Rochelle was put in lockdown immediately. But by then it was too late.
I was in Malta when the Northern Italy (and Iran) outbreaks flared up. Circa Feb 20. That's exactly when NY should have been preparing and implementing protective measures. If C-19 went from China to Italy in one month, it was obvious it was heading throughout borderless Europe and on to America (which was going to get it from both Asia and Europe).
When the first New Rochelle case turned up March 2, Cuomo waited 8+ days before reacting, at which point the number of cases was over 100. The "containment zone" they set up was too late and wholly inadequate. A 1 mile radius that banned large gatherings essentially. With no quarantine, no lockdown.
Again, the virus has gone from China --> Europe --> Westchester County in 6 weeks, but you don't take actions to lockdown NYC and stem or stop air travel?? There was a lot of lead time and little to nothing was done.
NYC and the US itself would have had a very very different viral outcome if when the Italy outbreak occurred, Cuomo and Trump had severely restricted, or better yet stopped, flights to/from Europe. It's even a much different outcome if once the New Rochelle cases turned up on NYC's doorstep if strenuous and effective action was taken in NYC. But they only went in for half measures in New Rochelle. Oops.
You wait until you have a number of cases and the infection is already in your city and of course it's too late. You take early protective measures and you can contain and control the disease. For the reasons you cite about demography and travel, when the virus is raging in China and especially in Italy, you know it's coming to NYC soon enough. So you take protective measures early and forcefully and save lives. Didnt happen. Slo-mo Cuomo failed. I don't care how great a guy he was in coping with his failure. When his leadership was needed he failed, leading to tens of thousands of unnecessary deaths.
1,103 cases and 4 deaths v. 200,0000 cases and 20,000 deaths*
Cuomo allowed 400,000 cases and 30,000 deaths in NY state.
And is basically responsible for a good part of the 165K cases & 12K deaths in NJ.
* for whatever reason the NY state COVID-19 website stopped providing daily number breakdowns after May 17, so I used the May 17 numbers and rounded up slightly.
https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-19-daily-data-summary-05172020-1.pdf
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