NY Gov. Hochul Just Went Crazy! Declares 'Disaster Emergency' Over Omicron Variant Despite Not Having Any Cases Yet
Published by Paul Sacca for The Blaze
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a "disaster emergency" for the state in anticipation of the newly-identified omicron variant of COVID-19.
The Democratic governor declared a state of emergency for the entire state of New York through Jan. 15, 2022, when it will be evaluated if the order needs to be extended.
The previous coronavirus-related state of emergency was enacted by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo from March 7, 2020, until June 24, 2021.
Hochul admitted that there have yet to be any omicron variant cases in New York state.
"We continue to see warning signs of spikes in COVID this winter, and while the new Omicron variant has yet to be detected in New York State, it's coming," Hochul tweeted on Friday.
"Today I signed an Executive Order to help @HealthNYGov boost hospital capacity ahead of potential spikes. Through this action, we will also be able to acquire critical supplies more quickly to combat the pandemic. I urge New Yorkers to take advantage of our greatest weapon in this pandemic: the vaccine. Get vaccinated and get the booster as soon as you are able."
Through this action, we will also be able to acquire critical supplies more quickly to combat the pandemic.
— Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) November 26, 2021
I urge New Yorkers to take advantage of our greatest weapon in this pandemic: the vaccine. Get vaccinated and get the booster as soon as you are able.
The official New York state government website stated, "For samples of SARS-CoV-2 collected between November 7 and November 20, 2021 from New York State that are sequenced and entered into Global Initiative on Sharing Avian Influenza Data (GISAID), 100% were the Delta variant."
The state of emergency order enables Holchul to "temporarily suspend or modify any statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation, or parts thereof, of any agency during a State disaster emergency, if compliance with such statute, local law, ordinance, order, rule, or regulation would prevent, hinder, or delay action necessary to cope with the disaster emergency or if necessary to assist or aid in coping with such disaster."
Under the executive order, non-essential procedures and elective surgeries can be postponed in order to increase hospital capacity.
Hochul is concerned about hospital capacity because medical care employees were forced out of the healthcare industry because of New York's vaccine mandate.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Aug. 16 that "all healthcare workers in New York State, including staff at hospitals and long-term care facilities (LTCF), including nursing homes, adult care, and other congregate care settings, will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday, September 27."
On Long Island, Mount Sinai South Nassau medical center temporarily closed earlier this week due to nursing staff shortages, according to WABC-TV.
Earlier this month, Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse announced it was temporarily closing 20% of patient beds due to an ongoing shortage of nurses, WSTM-TV reported.
Catholic Health's Mercy Hospital of Buffalo announced on Nov. 18, that it was expected to close until Jan. 3, 2022, because of "continued healthcare staffing shortages across the region and a sharp rise in COVID-19 patients at area hospitals."
In September, Holchul threatened to replace COVID-19 vaccine-hesitant healthcare workers with foreigners by working with the Department of State.
According to New York data, the state has a 7-day average of 34 cases per 100,000.
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