The opinions and statements contained in this book are those of the author only and do not represent those of any state government agency. Copyright © 2020 by Andrew M. Cuomo All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Crown, an imprint of Random House, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York. CROWN and the Crown colophon are registered trademarks of Penguin Random House LLC. Hardback ISBN 9780593239261 Ebook ISBN 9780593239278 crownpublishing.com Book design by Barbara M. Bachman, adapted for ebook Cover design: Christopher Brand ep_prh_5.6.0_c0_r0 Contents Cover Title Page Copyright Introduction March 1 | 1 New Case | 0 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 2 | 0 New Cases | 0 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 3 | 1 New Case | 1 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 6 | 22 New Cases | 5 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 7 | 11 New Cases | 10 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 9 | 28 New Cases | 8 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 10 | 63 New Cases | 14 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 11 | 44 New Cases | 32 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 12 | 56 New Cases | 47 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 13 | 102 New Cases | 50 Hospitalized | 0 Deaths March 14 | 164 New Cases | 117 Hospitalized | 2 Deaths March 15 | 131 New Cases | 137 Hospitalized | 1 Death March 16 | 294 New Cases | 158 Hospitalized | 6 Deaths March 17 | 432 New Cases | 326 Hospitalized | 5 Deaths March 18 | 1,009 New Cases | 496 Hospitalized | 4 Deaths March 19 | 1,769 New Cases | 617 Hospitalized | 22 Deaths March 20 | 2,950 New Cases | 1,042 Hospitalized | 8 Deaths March 21 | 3,254 New Cases | 1,406 Hospitalized | 12 Deaths March 22 | 4,812 New Cases | 2,043 Hospitalized | 38 Deaths March 25 | 5,145 New Cases | 4,079 Hospitalized | 75 Deaths March 27 | 7,379 New Cases | 6,481 Hospitalized | 134 Deaths March 28 | 7,681 New Cases | 7,328 Hospitalized | 209 Deaths March 29 | 7,195 New Cases | 8,503 Hospitalized | 237 Deaths March 30 | 6,984 New Cases | 9,517 Hospitalized | 253 Deaths March 31 | 9,298 New Cases | 10,929 Hospitalized | 332 Deaths April 4 | 10,841 New Cases | 15,905 Hospitalized | 630 Deaths April 5 | 8,327 New Cases | 16,837 Hospitalized | 594 Deaths April 7 | 8,174 New Cases | 17,493 Hospitalized | 731 Deaths April 8 | 10,453 New Cases | 18,079 Hospitalized | 779 Deaths April 13 | 6,337 New Cases | 18,825 Hospitalized | 671 Deaths April 14 | 7,177 New Cases | 18,697 Hospitalized | 778 Deaths April 15 | 11,571 New Cases | 18,335 Hospitalized | 752 Deaths April 20 | 4,726 New Cases | 16,103 Hospitalized | 478 Deaths April 21 | 4,178 New Cases | 16,044 Hospitalized | 481 Deaths April 22 | 5,526 New Cases | 15,599 Hospitalized | 474 Deaths April 24 | 8,130 New Cases | 14,258 Hospitalized | 422 Deaths April 27 | 3,951 New Cases | 12,819 Hospitalized | 337 Deaths April 30 | 4,681 New Cases | 11,598 Hospitalized | 306 Deaths May 1 | 3,942 New Cases | 10,993 Hospitalized | 289 Deaths May 10 | 2,273 New Cases | 7,262 Hospitalized | 207 Deaths May 11 | 1,660 New Cases | 7,226 Hospitalized | 161 Deaths May 17 | 1,889 New Cases | 5,897 Hospitalized | 139 Deaths May 29 | 1,551 New Cases | 3,781 Hospitalized | 67 Deaths June 1 | 941 New Cases | 3,331 Hospitalized | 54 Deaths June 2 | 1,329 New Cases | 3,121 Hospitalized | 58 Deaths June 12 | 822 New Cases | 1,898 Hospitalized | 42 Deaths June 15 | 620 New Cases | 1,608 Hospitalized | 25 Deaths June 18 | 618 New Cases | 1,358 Hospitalized | 29 Deaths June 19 | 716 New Cases | 1,220 Hospitalized | 25 Deaths The Aftermath A Blueprint for Going Forward Photo Insert Dedication Acknowledgments By Andrew Cuomo About the Author INTRODUCTION I NORMALLY DON’T TURN OFF MY cellphone when I sleep, because the work of being governor is literally twenty-four hours a day, and the phone pings all night long. If I’m really tired, I will turn it off, but that doesn’t mean people can’t get me; it’s just harder. My office phone is always answered, at night by a New York State trooper. Callers must convince the trooper that their issue is really important. Some troopers are easier to convince than others. Some troopers decide that it’s safer to put all callers through, but as I joke to my team, those troopers learn quickly that it is not in fact safer when they are then assigned to different duties. When my cellphone rang late on March 1, I hadn’t turned it off, but I didn’t get to it in time. Moments later, the landline rang. It was Melissa DeRosa, secretary to the governor and my top aide. Brilliant, tough, indefatigable, and widely respected, she is the quarterback on my team and is responsible for managing all the pieces. “Governor, I’m sorry to stalk you with the multiple calls, but we just received a confirmation from Wadsworth.” This was the New York State Department of Health’s lab in Albany. “New York has its first case of coronavirus—a health-care worker who just returned to New York City from Iran. We believe the incident is isolated. I have Dr. Zucker on the other line. Can I conference him in?” “Please put him through,” I said. As the state health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker, began to run through the patient’s background, symptoms, and literal steps taken between landing at JFK airport and reaching her apartment in Manhattan, it seemed as though white noise washed over the line. I couldn’t prove it, but I knew this wasn’t New York’s first coronavirus case. And I knew the country wasn’t prepared. The good news that night was that this was a fairly straightforward case, which would hopefully not cause great public alarm: The thirty-nine-year-old woman had traveled to Iran to provide health services and returned to New York feeling ill, but she knew to take
