州长安德鲁·科莫周一表示，纽约州和地方政府将支付死亡抚恤金致该州所有在抗击冠状病毒大流行中死亡的重要工作人员的家属。
这一消息是在曼哈顿无畏号上的阵亡将士纪念日新闻发布会上宣布的。在简报会上，科莫将大流行期间继续工作的前线工作者与战时被要求投入战斗的前线工作者进行了比较。
“我感到对我们的一线工作人员，我们的基本工作人员负有重大责任，他们理解COVID病毒的危险，但还是去工作了，因为我们需要他们，”州长说。“我肩负着向这个州的人们解释的重任，除了我们在处理COVID病毒时所处理的事情，还有它有多危险——然后，同样地，请人们明天出现。”
在这个截图中，纽约州州长安德鲁·科莫和米凯拉·科莫在2020年5月25日于纽约市举行的无畏海、空与空间博物馆虚拟纪念日纪念仪式上发表讲话。
库莫说，地方、县和州养老基金将支付福利金。他说，符合条件的家庭包括那些有一名家庭成员在大流行期间被归类为必需的人——包括医疗保健人员、警察、消防队员、急救人员、杂货店工人以及其他在州和联邦必需的工作人员名单上的人——并在感染病毒后死亡。
库莫说:“许多人为了保护他人的安全而牺牲了自己的生命，他们出现了，履行了自己的职责，并光荣地服务于他人。”。“我们要说的是，我们尊重这项服务，我们要确保纽约州的每一个政府都为那些在这次紧急事件中死于COVID-19的公众英雄提供死亡抚恤金。”
州长没有提供死亡抚恤金包括什么或何时发放的具体细节。新闻周刊联系科莫的办公室征求意见，并将更新这篇文章并回复。
随着病毒开始在美国蔓延，纽约很快成为受疫情影响最严重的州。截至周一，纽约州卫生部报告了362，764例阳性病例和23，488例死亡。而库莫四月中旬说该州的COVID-19曲线开始变平，卫生官员报告说，截至5月，每天的死亡率仍然很高，纽约最终报告说不到100名COVID-19死亡的第一天自5月23日3月以来。
在宣布州政府资助死亡抚恤金的决定后，科莫呼吁联邦政府也这样做。他说:“我认为联邦政府应该投入联邦资金，向那些出现的工人支付危险津贴。”。“这是一种向美国人展示的方式，当有下一次——还有下一次——我们真的很感激那些出现并履行职责的人。”
白宫没有回应新闻周刊请及时发表评论。
New York Governor Cuomo Says State Will Pay Benefits to Families of Essential Workers Who Died During Pandemic
Governor Andrew Cuomo said Monday that New York state and local governments will pay death benefits to the families of all essential workers in the state who died while battling the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement was made during a Memorial Day news briefing on board the U.S.S. Intrepid at the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in Manhattan. During the briefing, Cuomo compared the frontline workers who have continued going to work during the pandemic with those who are asked to go into battle during wartime.
"I feel a grave responsibility to our frontline workers, our essential workers, who understood the dangers of this COVID virus but went to work anyway because we needed them," the governor said. "I bare heavy the responsibility of explaining to the people of this state and beyond what we were dealing with when we were dealing with the COVID virus and how dangerous it was—and then, in the same breath, asking people to please show up tomorrow."
In this screengrab, Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo and Michaela Cuomo speak at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum’s virtual Memorial Day commemoration ceremony on May 25, 2020 in New York City.
Local, county and state pension funds will pay for the benefits, Cuomo said. Qualifying families include those who had a family member who was classified as essential—including health care workers, police officers, firefighters, EMS employees, grocery store workers and others on the state and federal essential workers lists—during the pandemic and died after contracting the virus, he said.
"Many of those people who showed up and did their duty and served with honor lost their lives to keep others safe," Cuomo said. "We're saying we honor that service and we're going to make sure that every government in the state of New York provides death benefits to those public heroes who died from COVID-19 during this emergency."
The governor did not provide specific details regarding what the death benefits will include or when they will be distributed. Newsweek reached out to Cuomo's office for comment and will update this article with a response.
New York quickly became the state that was hit hardest by the pandemic as the virus began spreading across the U.S. By Monday, the New York State Department of Health had reported 362,764 positive cases and 23,488 deaths. While Cuomo said in mid-Aprilthe state was beginning to flatten its COVID-19 curve, health officials still reported high numbers of daily death rates through May, with New York finally reporting its first day of fewer than 100 COVID-19 deaths since March on May 23.
After announcing the decision for the state to fund death benefits, Cuomo called on the federal government to do the same. "I think the federal government should dedicate federal funds and pay hazard pay to those workers who showed up," he said. "It's a way of showing Americans that, when there is a next time—and there is a next time—that we truly appreciate those people who show up and do their duty."
The White House did not respond to Newsweek's request for comment in time for publication.
