Covid-19: Governors Of NY, NJ, CT, MA, PA, RI To Hold Emergency Meeting As Cases Surge

Six governors in the Northeast will be putting their heads together over the weekend to determine how to best combat the recent spike in new COVID-19 cases in the region.

SIx governors in the Northeast will be convening for an emergency summit to discuss the spike in COVID-19 cases.
Photo Credit: *Pixabay*

Zak Failla

11/13/2020 3:25 p.m.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Friday, Nov. 13 that he was convening an emergency summit with officials in Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island over the weekend to align their COVID-19 policies as the country continues to see the virus spreading at record rates.

Since the pandemic began, top officials in the tri-state area have worked together with their neighbors in the Northeast to maintain similar restrictions in an effort to curtail the spread of COVID-19 throughout the region.

“I believe this situation is going to continue to deteriorate over the coming weeks,” Cuomo said. “I have called my surrounding colleagues, governors, and we’re going to have an emergency summit meeting this weekend, of the six northeastern states, governors and their staffs.

“There will be no changes today (Friday, Nov. 13) or over the weekend, there will be a joint discussion over the weekend."

Cuomo said any new directives will be announced Monday, Nov. 16.

Despite their best efforts, New York and Connecticut have both seen COVID-19 clusters cropping up as the positive infection rates across the region continue to trend in the wrong direction.

"The good news is our positive rate is one of the lowest in the country," Cuomo said. "The bad news is we are in the midst of a sea of COVID rising around us.”

Related story - COVID-19: NY Issues New Guidelines For Gatherings, Including In Homes, Restaurants, Bars, Gyms

Cuomo reiterated that it was expected that the COVID-19 numbers would go up after the summer, and that there is still work to be done combating the spread of the virus.

"The numbers are going up, the numbers will go up. I take that as a fact," Cuomo says. "There is a vaccine on the horizon, but it is a further horizon than they think."

Due to the rise in cases and infection rate since “flattening the curve” over the summer, new restrictions and guidance may be advised following the summit.

“We believe we’re going to have to be taking additional steps,” Cuomo said. “And to the extent we can share information and align action … we’ll do that.”

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