Cuomo: NY Has 15 Times the Cases of CA Because 'We Welcome People'

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday that the state was getting hit hardest in the United States because of their welcoming spirit.

Cuomo noted that New York had 15 times the coronavirus cases of California and other states and offered his opinion about why that was the case.

“Because we welcome people from across the globe,” he said. “We have people coming here, we have people who came here from China, who came here from Italy, who came here from all across the globe.”

Cuomo said that he believed that the virus was in New York City long before people even knew it was a problem.

“I had no doubt that the virus was here much earlier than we even know,” he said. “And I have no doubt that the virus was here much earlier than it was in any other state, because those people come here first.”

New York currently has 30,811 cases, California has 2,644 cases, Washington state has 2,404 cases and Massachusetts has 1,159 cases.

Cuomo added that New Yorkers lived “close to one another,” which was another reason the virus spread more quickly.

He cited the close quarters in which New Yorkers lived in their communities, restaurants, movie theaters, public transportation, that, made New Yorkers more vulnerable.

But he said that the greatest weakness of New Yorkers was also their greatest strength.

“Our closeness is what makes us special,” he said, noting that New Yorkers were more open, accepting and tolerant than the rest of the world.

“The closeness is that New York humanity that I think exists nowhere else,” he said.