We need a break — spring break
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Manhattan: Our governor is acting like an angry parent speaking to his children. Except teachers are the children in this case, and they need to get with the program. They need to continue to stare at screens nonstop during what was supposed to be a break from screens: spring break. Gov. Cuomo announced he would prefer us to “continue instruction” for children during our annual spring break. Why? Basically, he’s afraid teachers and students will break the stay home order and travel restrictions and spread the COVID-19 virus unless they are in virtual classes. So much for faith in the strength of our community during a time of crisis.
The city government and the state and local teachers’ unions are going along with the cancellation of spring break to “support our students and families,” according to UFT President Michael Mulgrew. It’s obvious that Cuomo is using his political muscle, which is especially strong given the positive media coverage of his COVID-19 response, in order to strongarm the DOE and unions with threats of large budget cuts.
Please, stop treating teachers like children, and please stop treating children like trash. If you want to start caring about them, then start showing it. The world won’t end if teachers and students don’t get a spring break, but teachers and students will remember the offhand and disregarding way they have been dealt with over the past weeks by our city and state governments. And we should remember that this isn’t a new problem. It’s been building for a long time.
Andrew Worthington
Testing 1, 2, 3
Bronx: Universal coronavirus testing should be mandated. It’s tough to quantify the number of asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic people. Why would they seek testing on their own without symptoms? These silent carriers can be spreading this virus and who knows for how long? I don’t think there is a definitive answer. Why not test everyone? Jolinda Celentano
Testing 4, 5, 6
Lindenhurst, L.I.: Gov. Cuomo’s idea regarding an antibodies test to find out who in our population has the antibodies for coronavirus is essential and vital to stemming future waves of COVID-19. It needs to be implemented immediately! By having only the people who are either uninfected, with no signs of the virus for the past two weeks, or who have the antibodies to fight it off go back to work and other daily activities, while quarantining those who are infected until they develop the antibodies and recover, we would ensure that future “waves” of the virus are much more manageable. Cuomo’s idea makes so
much sense and I hope and pray that efforts are underway to get this antibodies test ready for the public ASAP. Larry D’Angelo
A handy tool
Jackson Heights: Can someone please find out why New York is the only state not providing an American Sign Language interpreter for all press briefings? Deaf and hard-of-hearing advocates such as the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) have definitely been lobbying for this. This is life and death information being presented. And closed captions, often lagging or errorridden anyway, are not a solution for thousands of deaf people for whom ASL, not English, is their primary language. Why is Cuomo so resistant to this?
Christy Acevedo
Blame chain
Whitestone: How did New York City get into this huge problem regarding coronavirus and its rampant expansion? Answer: de Blasio. The mayor has his lame press conference every day and places the blame on everyone else and avoids taking the blame. He was the one who stated in February to continue on with our lives. Own up to it, Mayor de Bozo. Eugene O’Brien
Stay home!
Staten Island: To Voicer Kyrel Zantonavitch: Your idea of letting the people decide what to do is very strange. Just take a look at what the people did — they went and spread the virus. They went to playgrounds, they went on buses, trains and even cruise ships to spread the virus. Take your head out of the sand and open your eyes. I can only hope that you are obeying and did not get COVID-19. The government made the correct decision.
Thomas Bell
Brava, Thomas!
Medford, L.I.: Thank you to our Daily News delivery person, Thomas W., who even through this pandemic still delivers our newspaper every morning. He’s the nicest person and I personally appreciate his dedicated service. Betty Miserendino
Party time
Bronx: When this coronavirus apocalypse is finally over, there should be a parade up the Canyon of Heroes for all doctors and nurses. John Cirolia
Caring corporation
Whiting, N.J.: I can’t believe the lack of appreciation shown to the Amazon employee who was fired for organizing a protest for safer working conditions in a warehouse where thousands of packages are handled by various people with a lack of protective gear, and where extreme productivity is demanded while a barely living wage is paid, while Amazon rakes in billions and doesn’t pay taxes. Shameful. William McConnell
A love story
Jersey City: Did anyone else feel like gagging listening to Peter Navarro at Thursday’s daily briefing/Trump campaign rally? He looked and sounded like an idiot. Is he having a “love affair” with the president? Emily Grace
When in crisis
Ormond Beach, Fla.: The Democrats are trying to stop the daily updates by our commander-in-chief because it is making him look good, giving him free air time to ramp up for the coming election, and is driving up his approval rating in the polls. They wanted a crisis to derail Trump, and now it is having the opposite effect. Can you imagine if the Republicans had tried to
/SHUTTERSTOCK stop FDR from giving fireside chats during the Depression and World War II? They would have been run right out of the country on a rail. When a political party is hopeful for and gleeful over a stock market crash or a world pandemic, maybe you shouldn’t vote for them.
Charles Michael Sitero
Wartime president
Fairfield, Conn.: If this is a war, then Trump should be court-martialed for cowardice and dereliction of duty. His duty is to provide the American people with as much protection as humanly possible. By allowing price gouging and the misallocation of medical supplies, people will die who didn’t have to die. If he wanted to make an argument about the evils of unregulated capitalism, he certainly has done that. Vote “no” to the Grim Reaper in November. Vote for sanity, not Hannity. Bob Bodo
Team Puzzle
Howard Beach: I just wanted to thank you for the extra puzzle page. Now that my wife and I are admonished to stay at home because of the virus, we have plenty of time on our hands — which, by the way, are very clean from frequent washing. Ernest Kienzle