New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will waive mortgage payments for the next 90 days, based on financial hardship, due to the impacts of the coronavirus.
"If you are not working, if you are working only part-time, we're going to have the banks and financial institutions waive mortgage payments for 90 days," he said at a news conference Thursday. "That will be a real-life economic benefit. It will also be a stress reliever for many families."
The governor also said that he is ordering that fees be waived for overdrafts, ATMs, and credit cards.
On Wednesday, Cuomo issued a mandatory in-office workforce cap, saying that only 50 percent of workers could be present. He further expanded that Thursday, now saying that only 25 percent of workers could be in the office. The order does not include essential services such as food services, pharmacies, and shipping.
New York has been one of the states hit hardest by the virus, with more than 2,000 positive cases. Cuomo said authorities are working to expand the number of available hospital beds and boost supplies of crucial equipment.
"We have about 5,000-6,000 ventilators that we can identify. We need about 30,000 ventilators," he said.
Cuomo stressed that he was not planning to issue a shelter-in-place order for New York City: "I'm not doing it."
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