U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is running for governor, took another jab at Gov. Kathy Hochul's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York, saying in a statement Thursday that she "failed to create or implement a comprehensive Holiday Plan and now we are paying the price."

The Long Island congressman said several weeks ago that he wanted a comprehensive holiday plan for the state that emphasized boosters, targeted zones, testing, travel advisory and a contingency plan.

He said he met with Hochul in Washington on Dec. 1 and said she told him "we have COVID covered."

New York has seen a sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases in the last week, reaching a pandemic-high on Wednesday with nearly 29,000 new cases.

"I believe with better planning and preparation, we could have confronted this crisis head on, instead of the piecemeal approach we continue to receive from the Governor's office," Suozzi said in his statement Thursday. "The bottom line is, NY’s interim Governor lacks the executive experience to manage this crisis and her nearly exclusive focus on politicking and fundraising over the past 100 days has cost us dearly.”

Hochul said in a press conference Wednesday that "we've been on top of this since the beginning" while listing various measures taken in the last few weeks.

Suozzi is challenging Hochul for the Democratic nomination for governor, along with New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. Suozzi has been critical of Hochul's response to COVID-19 in the last several weeks and paints himself as a moderate Democrat.