The front page of Thursday’s New York Post contained a headline calling on New York City to end coronavirus lockdowns “now.”
“The Big Apple is dying,” the article by David Marcus, the Federalist’s New York correspondent, lamented. “Its streets are empty. Tens of thousands have been plunged into poverty. Our leaders have no plans, no answers. New Yorkers have already learned to socially distance. Businesses can adjust. The elderly and infirm can continue to be isolated.”
The article took direct aim at two of the most powerful officials in New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who have both been widely criticized for their responses to the virus.
Here’s the viral @nypost column we discussed on @foxandfriends “End New York City’s lockdown now!” https://t.co/n6pOYAvNvg
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) May 21, 2020
“By prolonging the coronavirus shutdown long after its core mission was accomplished, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio have plunged tens of thousands of New Yorkers into poverty,” Marcus wrote.
“What the hell is going on? Is anybody in charge of this situation? Or are we just left with the governor and his talking-head brother arguing on CNN about which of the two Ma loves best? (Who cares?),” Marcus added, referring to the governor’s brother, Chris Cuomo, who has frequently hosted Andrew Cuomo on his CNN show. The host has been criticized for not asking tough questions about why the state didn’t protect the elderly in nursing homes and covered up how bad the situation was in that regard.
Marcus expressed the frustration felt by many New Yorkers after they submitted to lockdowns in mid-March when government officials told them it was necessary to make sure hospitals weren’t overwhelmed, but hospital overcrowding didn’t happen.
“In mid-March, we were told we have to endure a lockdown to ensure that hospitals didn’t get overrun. We did. The hospitals were not overwhelmed. We turned the Javits Center into a hospital. We didn’t need it. We brought in a giant Navy ship to treat New Yorkers. We didn’t need it.”
Marcus continued: “We were told we were moments away from running out of ventilators. We weren’t, and now the United States has built so many, we are giving them away to other countries.”
After suggesting de Blasio and Cuomo are “idiots,” the article points out that Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp opened up the state despite being attacked by left-wing media outlets, and the situation hasn’t gotten worse.
“In late April, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp defied experts by opening his state. The Atlantic magazine, once a serious publication that should now come with a stick of stale bubblegum, accused him of engaging in “human sacrifice,” Marcus wrote.
“You want to guess what happened? Guess, come on, take a guess. Instead of the predicted spike in deaths, the number of cases of coronavirus and associated deaths declined,” he continued.
Protests have erupted all across the country, most notably in Michigan and California, with people asking why states are still locked down when the curve has been flattened and hospitals are not only not crowded, but some are also closing.
Hundreds of doctors signed a letter to President Trump this week referring to the lockdowns as a “mass casualty incident” and arguing that continuing to keep people inside and businesses closed will claim more lives than reopening.
A study conducted by Just Facts earlier this month concluded that the stress and despair that comes from lockdowns would destroy 7 times the years of life that lockdowns save.
“If our elected leaders won’t save the world’s greatest city from a slow death by economic strangulation, then the people of New York must do it themselves,” Marcus wrote. “Barbers, tailors, nail salons, sporting goods stores, movie theaters and others should open their doors — while maintaining social distancing, of course — and dare the state to shut them down.”
