NY Gov add Terp to Daily Briefing

New York's governor has added a sign-language interpreter to his daily coronavirus briefing in response to an outcry from the Deaf community. While the state offered closed captioning for Gov. Andrew Cuomo's updates, it was often inaccurate and ASL is the first language for many people. David Wantuck, a community engagement specialist for Deaf Access Services, was one advocate who brought the issue to the governor's staff. Wantuck expressed his approval today after Cuomo was accompanied by an interpreter. He wrote on his Facebook page:

I want to take the time to say GREAT JOB to the CDI who interpreted this press conference. Thank you!!
This is a big step for the Deaf Community as we have an interpreter, but yes, there are improvements that needs to be made.
For today, lets appreciate what we have now, and take this as a something great. Tomorrow, we will gather again to advocate for suggestions and improvements to make this better.

According to Wantuck's tally, the only states that did not include an ASL interpreter were New York, Montana, and Vermont. Now that New York and Montana have started using interpreters, that leaves Vermont as the only state not providing ASL interpretation at their governor's emergency press conferences.