Hochul becomes first woman to serve as New York governor as scandal-plagued Cuomo era ends

— Cites COVID numbers and calls for universal mask requirement in schools upon taking office — 

Kathy Hochul was sworn in early Tuesday as New York’s 57th governor, becoming the first woman to hold the position and hoping to avoid the scandals that enveloped her three immediate predecessors.

In a ceremony that took place shortly after midnight, Hochul, 62, was sworn in by New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. The former lieutenant governor succeeds Andrew Cuomo, who resigned a few minutes earlier after months of controversies.

“Honored to be officially sworn in as New York’s 57th governor,” Hochul wrote on Twitter a short time after the ceremony. “Looking forward to the full swearing-in ceremony with my family later this morning, and addressing the people of New York later today.”

Cuomo announced Aug. 10 he was stepping down, shortly after a report was released by Attorney General Letitia James that supported allegations of sexual harassment leveled against him by 11 women, many of whom were either current or former subordinates of the governor.

Other controversies were also swirling around Cuomo, foremost among them allegations that his staff had sought to suppress information about the nursing home death toll during the COVID-19 pandemic. Republican and a few Democratic lawmakers argued that the true death toll was being concealed in order to obscure the administration’s culpability in policies that may have spread the virus among long-term care facilities.

Hochul, like Cuomo a Democrat, was his running mate in the 2014 and 2018 elections. But it became clear during the early months of the pandemic that their relationship was not close, as she was largely frozen out of his handpicked team assembled to appear during daily on-camera briefings.

In the days since Cuomo announced his resignation, Hochul has promised a clean break, saying she would fire or seek the resignation of any of Cuomo’s aides who had been mentioned in the attorney general’s report.

The two governors preceding Cuomo also left office under a cloud.

And With a new governor in place, New York also has a new method of reporting COVID-19 data. Gov. Kathy Hochul revealed additional information regarding the state’s death toll.

For nearly 18 months, the state announced COVID-19 deaths that only happened at hospitals, nursing homes and long-term care facilities. The New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) tracked those deaths through its reporting system. The new report includes a second total with a broader definition that includes fatalities reported to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by state and New York City officials.

That second total shows the death toll at 55,395 New Yorkers as of Tuesday. That’s nearly 12,000 more than the total the Cuomo Administration publicized, which stands at 43,415.

“This daily COVID-19 provisional death certificate data reported by NYS DOH and NYC to the CDC includes those who died in any location, including hospitals, nursing homes, adult care facilities, at home, in hospice and other settings,” the statement released by the governor read.

Based on these numbers and the ongoing COVID crisis, on her first day in office Governor Hochul announced a new, comprehensive plan to help ensure a safe, productive return to schools this fall in the midst of rising COVID-19 numbers fueled by the Delta variant. 

As part of this plan, Governor Hochul has directed the New York State Department of Health to institute a universal mask requirement in all schools, public and private, as determined necessary at the discretion of the Commissioner. The Department of Health will issue the requirement through regulatory action established by the Public Health and Health Planning Council. 

Governor Hochul will also pursue options to mandate vaccines for school employees or require weekly testing in the absence of vaccines, and will continue to work with the Department of Health, education stakeholders and the Legislature on establishing the mandate.

“As Governor, my priorities are now the priorities of the people of New York – and right now that means fighting the Delta variant,” Governor Hochul said. 

She added, “My number one priority is getting children back to school and protecting the environment so they can learn safely. I am immediately directing the Department of Health to institute universal masking for anyone entering our schools, and we are launching a Back to School COVID-19 testing program to make testing for students and staff widely available and convenient. We are also working to require vaccinations for all school personnel with an option to test out weekly, and we are going to accomplish all of this by working in partnership with all levels of government.”

In addition to testing, New York State has available more than 4.3 million child-sized clothed facemasks, about 10 million adult-sized clothed facemasks and almost 55 million non-surgical facemasks to provide to students and teachers in schools across the state.

In Tioga County, most schools return with a combination of in-person and virtual on Sept. 9. 

Also in her first week, and on Wednesday, Governor Hochul  announced that New York State is prepared to welcome the arrival of Afghan nationals fleeing violence and instability spreading throughout the troubled nation. The state’s Refugee Services and Office for New Americans are both ready to assist those seeking to resettle in New York and continue the state’s tradition of welcoming those who are fleeing persecution or war. 

New Yorkers seeking to support Afghans arriving in New York State can contact the Office for New Americans Hotline at 1-800-566-7636 for information on local providers and how they can assist. The Hotline is also available for any immigrant in need of confidential assistance and connection to support and services. 

(Information from the Governor’s Office, as well as Center Square New York was utilized to compile this report.)