Audio & Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo is a Guest on CNN's Erin Burnett Outfront

Earlier today, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo was a guest on CNN's Erin Burnett OutFront with Erin Burnett.

AUDIO is available here.

A rush transcript of the Governor's interview is available below:

Erin Burnett: Governor, I don't know if you just heard Sanjay. We were talking about the terrible news today, which is the death rate record in New York, 806 deaths, but your hospitalizations have started to slow. What do you read into that?

Governor Cuomo: Good evening, Erin. I did hear Sanjay and I agree with what he's saying, not just tonight but in general. He's a great source. It is a terrible day today in New York - the highest number ever of deaths. As Sanjay was saying it's called a lagging indicator. If you come into the hospital and you're not treated and discharged you wind up on a ventilator. The longer you're on a ventilator the less likely you get off the ventilator, and two weeks later you tend to see the number of deaths increasing. That's what we're seeing now. So you have two numbers really. The number of deaths is at an all-time high today but the hospitalization rate is slowing. So the number of people coming into the system is slowing, apparently leveling off, plateauing. We're not 100% sure yet, but a spike in the number of deaths.

Erin Burnett: So when you look at things like the Javits Center where you had around 50 people but you had the capacity for many more than that, well over 1,000, do you think you may end up, because of the social distancing, not actually needing, I know your hope is you won't need it, is it possible you won't need that extra capacity?

Governor Cuomo: Well, two things, Erin. The entire hospital system is overcapacity right now. So the relief valve is the Javits Center which is converted into a 2,500-bed facility and a Navy ship called Comfort which can hold an additional 500 COVID-positive patients. That's basically a relief valve to the hospital system and the hospital system not only is over capacity but they have been over capacity for weeks and they are stressed and the staff is getting sick. So that's very important. But the second point is, you know, people talk about projection models. There is no model. It is what we do. The number is determined by us. The quote unquote social distancing, if we do a better job at social distancing the number comes down. If we get complacent and the weather starts to turn warm in the Northeast and people start to go out you're going to see that number go up. None of this is pre-determined. God hasn't said, "This is what's going to happen." It depends on what we do and people have to remember that.

Erin Burnett: So when Larry Kudlow today says we could re-open the economy in 4 to 8 weeks, obviously, that's a big range. But you talk about the good weather and you do see more and more people coming out. When you start to see numbers plateau and people internalize that, people are presumably going to come out. How worried are you, Governor, about - at that point it wouldn't even be a second surge - but about this really taking you off course over the next few weeks?

Governor Cuomo: I am concerned about it. Look, I just doubled the fine for violators of social distancing because of exactly what you said was happening. The weather has turned warm, people have been in their homes for now one month. People have cabin fever and they are coming out in greater and greater numbers. Places like New York City, you can't really walk down a crowded sidewalk and maintain social distancing. It's a physical impossibility. If that happens the numbers will go up. And you're right, not even worried about a second wave, I'm worried about getting out of the situation we're in right now and saving as many lives as possible. That will be a direct co-efficient of how well we comply with social distancing. So what I'm saying to New Yorkers is, look this is not about me, this is about we. This really is a time where your own individual actions effect other people. It can literally kill other people. For you to be irresponsible in your actions and jeopardize someone else's life is the height of irresponsibility. We have first responders, we have nurses that are literally killing themselves every day in hospitals. We should be helping them, not creating more of a burden for them.

Erin Burnett: Another question tonight, the President just said, Governor, about ventilator resources. He said that we have 110,000 ventilators coming over a short period of time. That's his quote. He said that 60,000 of those though won't arrive until June 29. Obviously, you can do the math so you have 50,000 between now and then from the federal supply. What does that say to you? Is that a surprise to you? Do you have what you need now?

Governor Cuomo: It's not a surprise to me. We know that no one had the number of ventilators that were going to be required here. These ventilators sort of came out of the blue of just for this pandemic and this particular respiratory disease. We have been scrambling with ventilators. We move them all over the state like pieces on a chess board literally whatever hospital has the greatest inflow that night we move ventilators around the state. We have also used other machines that have a ventilating capacity, something called the BiPAP machine. There's something called a splitting capacity where you can take one ventilator and literally run two sets of tubes to treat two patients. I understand there's going to be a delivery of ventilators in June or whatever and that's going to be past our problem, hopefully. The apex in New York and my guess is most other places but God forbid there's a second wave, the ventilators will be here. But they're not going to make a difference in the next two weeks obviously. And right now we are okay. But we're literally moving pieces all across the chess board every day.

Erin Burnett: So Trump also just said a few moments ago at his press conference, Governor Cuomo, and I quote him: I will protect you if your governor fails. This was not a reference to you specifically but in general to governors across the country. What do you say to that?

Governor Cuomo: I don't know what the President meant by that, Erin. If I were to try to interpret every statement he made there's a whole occupation in that, so I don't know. I know I have been working with him. The federal government has a very important role here. I served in the federal government for eight years. I was a cabinet secretary. I know how important the federal government's role is. I know how important the state's role is. So far, so good working with the federal government. But every day is a new day.

Erin Burnett: All right, Governor Cuomo, I appreciate your time. Thank you, sir.

Governor Cuomo: Thank you, Erin.