Cuomo, whose response to the COVID-19 outbreak in New York has been praised by many, will be receiving an international Emmy for his use of television during the outbreak.
In a Friday statement, the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the organization behind the International Emmy Awards, praised Cuomo for his "masterful use of television to inform and calm people around the world" during the crisis.
“The Governor’s 111 daily briefings worked so well because he effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure,” Bruce L. Paisner, the organization's president and CEO, said in the statement. “People around the world tuned in to find out what was going on, and New York tough became a symbol of the determination to fight back.”
The award is presented to an individual or organization who “crosses cultural boundaries to touch our common humanity,” the statement noted. Past recipients include former US Vice President Al Gore, US talk show host Oprah Winfrey and US film director and producer Steven Spielberg.
"It’s flattering – I accepted on behalf of the people of the state, and I think it’s flattering to the people of the state," Cuomo said of the award on Friday during a press call, The Hill reported. "I think what the people of New York did was amazing, going from the highest infection rate to one of the lowest. I think their participation in the daily press presentations was amazing – we had over 64 million people participate."
Cuomo will be presented the award on November 23 during a virtual Emmy Awards ceremony. During the briefing, Cuomo also divulged that he has already created an video to play during the ceremony, noting, “I thanked the academy — which I got a real kick out of.”
Many health experts have credited New York for managing to control the pandemic. While the state had one of the worst outbreaks in the US in March, Cuomo swiftly took steps to control the outbreak and flatten the curve by locking down the state and imposing strict social distancing guidelines. However, despite Cuomo’s actions, the pandemic has still resulted in the deaths of more than 34,000 people in New York, according to the latest data by Worldometer.
In addition, Cuomo has faced scrutiny for publishing a book titled "American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic” in October, according to Fox News. According to Penguin Random House, the book describes "intimate and inspiring thoughts of a leader at an unprecedented historical moment.”
