Gov. Cuomo: travelers from Europe 'brought the virus to New York'
"Everybody said the facts were the virus was coming from China, those were not the facts. The virus had left China. The virus went to Europe and nobody told us," he said. "We didn't have the facts. We were not informed," Cuomo said, blaming New York's early surge in COVID-19 cases on the lack of accurate data about where the virus was spreading.
published on Saturday that suggested President Donald Trump's announcement in March restricting travel from Europe — which initially excluded the UK and Ireland — triggered a rush of Americans who brought the virus back home with them when they fled the country. "Epidemiologists contend the U.S. outbreak was driven overwhelmingly by viral strains from Europe rather than China," the report read. "More than 1.8 million travelers entered the United States from Europe in February alone as that continent became the center of the pandemic. Infections reached critical mass in New York and other cities well before the White House took action, according to studies mapping the virus's spread. The crush of travelers triggered by Trump's announcement only added to that viral load." reported in April that the virus was likely spreading in New York as early as mid-February and that multiple teams of epidemiologists found that most of the cases had been brought from Europe rather than Asia. Cuomo has suggested as much previously, citing research in April that also reached a similar conclusion,"We closed the front door with the China travel ban, which was right," Cuomo said, according to Reuters. "But we left the back door open because the virus had left China by the time we did the China travel ban." The office of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment. Do you have a personal experience with the coronavirus you'd like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please emailfrom Business Insider Intelligence on how COVID-19 is affecting industries.
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