On the morning of March 31, Christopher Cuomo, brother of Governor Andrew Cuomo, announced he tested positive for coronavirus.
In a tweet, Christopher Cuomo writes, “I have been exposed to people in recent days who have subsequently tested positive and I have fever, chills and shortness of breath.”
— Christopher C. Cuomo (@ChrisCuomo) March 31, 2020
Governor Cuomo told WAMC, Northeast Public Radio with Alan Chartock, that just the night before he was on his brother’s CNN Cuomo Prime Time show, where the brothers were staying lighthearted and joking around about who their mother loves more.
Governor Cuomo made the announcement of his brother’s positive results at a press conference the same day of Christopher Cuomo’s tweet. He assured the public of his brother’s health and stated, “He is going to be fine. He’s young, in good shape, strong.” However, Cuomo said there is “a lesson in this.”
Despite stricter and stricter guidelines, some individuals are still leaving their homes when they don’t need to.
“Everyone is subject to this virus, it is the great equalizer,” Governor Cuomo said. “I don’t care how smart, how rich, how powerful you think you are. I don’t care how young, how old. This virus is the great equalizer.”
Christopher Cuomo was with their mother, Matilda Cuomo, two weeks before. The brothers went back and forth on if their mother should move in with Christopher.
“He didn’t want to leave her at the apartment alone, right,” Cuomo told WAMC. “Nobody wants to leave their parent, an elderly person, in the apartment alone.”
Governor Cuomo stressed that moving vulnerable populations home would not be keeping them safe. Matilda’s Law was named after Mrs. Cuomo.
Matilda’s Law gives protection for the most vulnerable populations. It includes that people should remain indoors and not visit households with multiple people, people should only go outside for solitary exercise, stay at least six feet away from each other, and so on.
“Your stupid actions don’t just affect you,” Governor Cuomo said. “You come home, you can infect someone else and cause a serious illness or even death for them, by your actions.”
Currently Christopher Cuomo is quarantined in his basement in hopes of keeping his children and wife healthy.
“Which is like a semi-imprisonment in your own house. He’s got the kids upstairs,” Cuomo said on WAMC radio. “It’s all jarring. It’s all disruptive. It’s all so disconcerting. How the hell did we get here so fast and it’s everywhere?
“It’s my family, it’s your family, it’s all of our families,” Cuomo said at his press conference. “And this virus is that insidious, and we have to keep that in mind.”
