Gov. Andrew Cuomo is blaming New York's COVID-19 resurgence – and subsequent Catholic school shutdowns – on the "ultra-orthodox" Jewish community.
"The cluster is predominantly an ultra-orthodox cluster," Cuomo told CNN on Friday, pinning blame on the devout conservative Jewish sect. "The Catholic schools are closed because they happen to be in that cluster, but the issue is with that ultra-orthodox community."
Cuomo's comments come amid lawsuits filed by the Brooklyn Diocese and a Jewish advocacy group opposing his new COVID-19 safety restrictions on gatherings at houses of worship as violating religious freedom.
"This is not a matter of religious freedom," Cuomo said.
Cuomo is calling for tighter COVID-19 restrictions and added the rules apply to everyone, including protesters against religious freedom, the New York Post reported.
"You have to follow the rules," he told CNN, per the Post.
"I don't care if you're Roman Catholic, you're Jewish, you're Muslim, you're an atheist. You have to follow the rules of the state, the laws of the state."
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