Good morning. It’s Tuesday. We’ll be looking at Governor Kathy Hochul’s campaign ahead of November. We’ll also explore what we need to know now that the global monkeypox outbreak has reached New York†
Gov. Kathy Hochul looks set to sail to a comfortable win in the Democratic primary for governor next week.
By a seemingly commanding lead, she has pursued a Rose Garden strategy against her opponents, Long Island Representative Thomas Suozzi and New York City public advocate Jumaane Williams. She has spent millions of dollars on TV commercials and digital advertising. But she has mostly stayed above the political fray and avoided personal campaign appearances. In fact, most of her appearances this spring — in black churches or in parades, for example — have been counted as official duties. Her campaign has only listed five events in the past month.
Her approach has been so restrained that some elected officials, party leaders and Democratic strategists are concerned. They fear that Hochul, a relatively untried candidate from western New York who wasn’t well known in the downstate before replacing Andrew Cuomo as governor 10 months ago, hasn’t developed the kind of political ground game that would spark enthusiasm among black and Latino voters. and trade unions. members in New York.
That could affect turnout in November, they say — and low turnout could, in turn, put Democrats at risk on the vote. Democratic strategies say it could harm Antonio Delgado, the Hudson Valley congressman she chose as lieutenant governor. He takes on Ana Maria Archila and Diana Reyna.
Charles Rangel, the longtime dean of politics in Harlem, sounded the alarm last month in a meeting with two of Hochul’s top political aides. He asked: Where is the campaign? There were no posters put up and no surrogates working in subway stations to smooth out the primaries vote.
Three major union leaders who support Hochul told my colleagues Nicholas Fandos and Jeffery C. Mays that they were baffled by the relative silence of Hochul’s team. They said they had not been asked for help to recruit or run other errands that her predecessors had routinely sought. One of them said bluntly that he had seen no evidence of campaign activity.
Tyquana Henderson-Rivers, a senior adviser to Hochul, acknowledged that the campaign took a “slower build” approach than officials like Rangel may have been used to.
But it has its reasons, she said, including the pandemic — which has shifted some personal campaigns to harder-to-see digital platforms — and the calendar. This is the first year in which the New York governor’s primaries will be held in June instead of September. The change will extend the time between the primary and general elections. Hochul’s team is now consciously managing resources to prepare for late summer and fall campaigns.
“We hear you,” Henderson-Rivers said, when asked about the concerns of fellow Democrats, before adding that Hochul’s campaign operation would get underway. “We’re touring,” she said.
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The latest New York news
Monkey pox cases are on the rise
Monkeypox, a virus long endemic to parts of Africa, is spreading worldwide. About 23 cases have been reported in New York, but health officials believe there are more undetected cases. Most reported cases are among gay or bisexual men or men who have had sex with other men. The city has said most cases so far have been mild, but even mild cases can cause a painful rash that can take two to four weeks to clear. I asked Sharon Otterman, who covers healthcare for Metro, for an explanation.
How is it distributed? Can it spread through respiratory droplets like the coronavirus can?
The virus is mainly spread through skin-to-skin contact with the sores of someone who is infected.
It appears to have spread primarily through intimate and sexual contact, although it is not officially considered a sexually transmitted disease. Scientists say it can also spread through contact with sharing objects with an infected person, such as towels or sex toys.
It can spread through respiratory droplets, which form when we speak, sneeze, or cough, but it will likely require prolonged close contact. There is also evidence that it can spread to a limited extent via small aerosols, such as Covid-19, meaning it could be airborne.
But the monkeypox virus is generally much less contagious than Covid-19. It is not thought that you can get it by just breathing the air in a room where, for example, an infected person is sitting. So overall the risk is low for most people at this point.
You write that testing remains rare, which sounds disturbing as the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. How are monkeypox tests handled?
Only about 70 public labs in the country can perform the test for orthopox, the family of viruses to which monkeypox belongs. To get a test, a health care provider must call the local health department and discuss whether a test is warranted, and at this time, New York health officials won’t test everyone who just comes in with a rash.
But if an orthopox virus test is positive, the sample then goes to the CDC in Atlanta for final confirmation of monkeypox. The whole process can take several days. To speed up the response, any orthopox test that is positive is assumed to be monkeypox, even before the confirmation test.
If you’re texting positive for monkey pox, what’s the treatment?
Most patients get better on their own, with some supportive care for symptoms, such as relieving the itching of the smallpox.
What you need to know about the Monkeypox virus?
What is monkey pox? Monkeypox is a virus endemic to parts of Central and West Africa. It is similar to smallpox, but less serious. It was discovered in 1958, after outbreaks occurred in monkeys kept for research, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
It’s important for people with monkeypox to isolate as much as possible to prevent the virus from spreading until their sores crust, the scabs fall off, and new skin forms.
For more severe cases, there are several antiviral drugs that local health departments can access. For close contacts of someone who tests positive, an FDA-approved monkeypox vaccine may be offered.
What is the risk to the LGBTQ community? Will Monkeypox be distributed at events like the Gay Pride march on June 26?
Large outdoor events where people do not have close skin-to-skin contact are not considered places where people can contract monkey pox. There is no reason not to attend an event like a parade. In fact, the risk of contracting Covid-19 at many events is probably higher.
Again, close skin-to-skin contact is the primary way monkeypox spreads, so health officials say it’s important that people check themselves carefully for sores before entering such locations before going to crowded places like saunas or bathhouses — and staying at home. if they notice something or don’t feel well at all.
What about the response from the CDC? What steps has the CDC taken to bring this outbreak under control, and are they sufficient?
So far, the CDC has stuck to a centralized test model designed to work with a limited outbreak. There are concerns among proponents that this won’t catch many cases that are likely now cropping up across the country. Proponents say the CDC should authorize commercial labs to conduct their own tests and develop rapid tests.
Monkeypox has never spread from person to person on this scale or outside of Africa, so this is a new challenge for the CDC and global health agencies.