Cuomo's Approval Rating Soars Amid Coronavirus Pandemic: Poll

NEW YORK — As the number of novel coronavirus cases rises in New York, so do Gov. Andrew Cuomo's approval ratings.

A Siena College poll published Monday showed 87 percent of Empire State voters and 82 percent of New York City voters approve of Cuomo's handling of the pandemic.

Mayor Bill de Blasio earned less approval in the state with a 61 percent of pollers who approved of his COVID-19 response and 31 percent who did not.

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President Trump saw a 56 percent approval rating and 41 percent disapproval, the poll shows.

“By a 79-18 percent margin ... voters say New York State government is doing everything it can to protect the health of New Yorkers,” said Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg.

“However, by 53-43 percent margin, they say the federal government is not doing all it can to protect Americans’ health. ”

Cuomo's leadership since New York reported its first case on March — which include a statewide stay-at-home order, a Javits Center hospital and a mental health hotline — has earned him a steady fanbase who await with anticipation his morning press conferences.

It's also spurred New Yorkers to call for him to run for president.

But one important group has begun to speak out against the governor, and its members may not have time to take a Siena College poll.

The New York State Nurses Association has begun advocating fiercely against Cuomo's admitted plans to cut back on Medicaid as part of drastic cuts to the state budget.

And Sean Petty, a registered nurse at Jacobi Hospital and a NYSNA member of the board of directors, argued Cuomo's policies leading up to the pandemic had rid the state of about 20,000 much needed hospital beds.

New York began with 53,000 beds and has Cuomo estimated the state will need 140,000 to handle the incoming COVID-19 patients.

"We have been at a severe state of precarity when it comes to having these services available over the last decade going into this pandemic," Petty argued.

"And these are because of these specific policies of Medicaid cuts and hospital closures that have been explicitly pursued."

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