Cuomo applauds putting Pence in charge of disease

ALBANY — The threat of a pandemi c makes for strange bedfellows.

Gov. Cuomo praised the appointment of Vice President Pence as the lead official in the government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.

“Putting in the vice president was a recognition that this is a governmentwide mobilization, and that’s intelligent,” Cuomo said, during an appearance on WAMC Friday. “And for this state government preparedness means you have to have a plan for almost every contingency.”

Many health officials and Cuomo’s fellow Democrats have questioned President Trump’s choice of point man and his downplaying of the severity of the rapidly spreading virus.

But the governor, who spoke to Pence on Thursday, promised political differences and recent sparring over immigration laws and other issues won’t impede a coordinated response to the rapidly spreading respiratory illness.

“It would never affect the coronavirus. I had a good conversation with the vice president yesterday,” Cuomo said, adding that despite their public spats, lawsuits and political differences, his rapport with Trump is “a highly functional relationship.”

More than 83,000 cases of the so-called COVID-19 have been diagnosed worldwide and nearly 3,000 have died as the respiratory illness spreads.

At least 60 cases have been confirmed in the U.S. and a city resident is being tested for the virus after traveling to Italy, officials revealed Thursday.