Coronavirus: Cuomo To Expand Testing Ahead Of Reopening

NEW YORK, NY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Friday said he will sign an executive order directing all public and private labs in New York to coordinate with state health officials to expand coronavirus testing, which would help restart the economy when nonessential businesses are reopened.

The governor's announcement came after 630 more people, including 40 at nursing homes, died of the coronavirus Thursday. The number of new COVID-19 patients walking into New York hospitals continued to hover around 2,000 per day.

Cuomo said the crisis will not be over until a vaccine is found, which could be between a year and 18 months. Cuomo acknowledged a medical treatment for COVID-19 could also change the trajectory.

"That would be the quick fix," he said.

The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations fell to 17,316 and the three-day average continued to fall. The net change in the number of people being intubated continued to fall, Cuomo said, with the number falling to minus 73 after peaking earlier in the month at about 350. Intensive care admissions, meanwhile, ticked up, but continued to trend down since the beginning of the month.

Cuomo again called on federal lawmakers to send state governments financial assistance to the tune of $500 billion, which he believes should be distributed based on the states that have been hit hardest. He also urged the federal government to take a larger role in scaling up testing.

"We cannot do it without federal help," Cuomo said, noting the state is having trouble obtaining the chemicals needed to even conduct the tests.

Melissa De Rosa, Cuomo's top aide, told reporters Friday that Cuomo plans to sign an executive order that would require nursing homes to tell residents and their families of positive cases. Violators, she said, could face civil penalties.

Her remarks came after state health officials released data on the number of residents deaths at individual nursing homes due to COVID-19. The data showed that 19 of the state’s nursing homes have each had at least 20 deaths linked to the pandemic. That includes a nursing home in Brooklyn that saw 55 deaths. Four in the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island saw more than 40.

The list is incomplete and was based on a survey sent by the state seeking details, The Associated Press reported. Nursing homes had until 2 p.m. Thursday to respond.

"We only know what they tell us," Cuomo said.