At Least 30M Coronavirus Tests Needed For Recovery, Cuomo Says

NEW YORK, NY — New York State's coronavirus infection rate seems to be stabilizing, but the state is far from ready to return to work due to a lack of testing, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said during his Friday press briefing.

Three-day averages for infection rates, ICU admissions and deaths appear to be dropping, which suggest that New York's social distancing efforts are helping "flatten the curve" of the new coronavirus outbreak in the state. Despite the encouraging signs, New Yorkers will need to stay at home until widespread testing for both the coronavirus and the presence of its antibodies becomes available, the governor said Friday.

At least 30 million tests will need to be produced for Cuomo to feel comfortable letting people return to work, the governor said Friday, adding that the state will take "as many tests as possible."

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In order to produce the needed tests, the federal government will need to get involved with production, Cuomo said Friday. New York State's labs have begun producing antibody tests, but can only manufacture enough tests to administer 300 per day. In two weeks, state labs are expected to be able to administer a few thousand pery day.

"The State Department of Health can currently do 300 tests a day and by next Friday, they will be able to do 1,000 tests and 2,000 tests the following week. That's great, sounds like a lot, but 2,000 tests are still a drop in the bucket, and I'm proud of how New York has advanced on testing," Cuomo said Friday.

The federal government must utilize the Defense Production Act to force private manufacturers to ramp up the production of tests on a national scale, Cuomo said. The government could invoke the act to help procure needed materials, chemicals and equipment to aid private manufacturers to scale their businesses to produce millions of tests. Today, there are no private companies with the abilities to produce the amount of tests New York, and the rest of the country, will require, Cuomo said Friday.

New York's governor said Friday that he will be a "willing partner" of President Donald Trump should the federal government take steps to ramp up test manufacturing. Cuomo also revealed that New Jersey and Connecticut Govs. Phil Murphy and Ned Lamont would join to create a tri-state testing coalition.

Until every New Yorker is able to be tested accurately and often, people must continue to stay home in order to prevent a second wave of coronavirus infections in the state, Cuomo said Friday. Cuomo is currently "comfortable" with the state's stockpile of ventilators and personal protective equipment and its hospital capacity, so long as the infection rate does not see another spike.

The new coronavirus has killed 7,844 New Yorkers as of Friday, up 777 from the day before, Cuomo said. The high rate of deaths in recent days is caused by people who came into the hospital system weeks ago and had to be put on ventilators. The longer a person is kept on a ventilator the worse their chances of survival, Cuomo said.

During his Friday press briefing Cuomo compared the coronavirus outbreak to 9/11, saying he believed that the terrorist attack would be the "worst situation" that New York would need to deal with in his lifetime. The governor said Friday that it is "beyond my capacity" to reckon with the fact that more than twice as many people have been killed by the virus.

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