Cuomo: Coronavirus testing lagging behind state's capacity

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Sunday urged all New Yorkers with possible symptoms of the coronavirus to get tested, saying the state has doubled its daily capacity but the number of people actually taking the tests is lagging behind.

The state is capable of processing 40,000 tests each day, double the capacity of just one month ago, Cuomo said at his daily briefing on the pandemic. As many as 90,000 can be handled when private labs are included, according to the health commissioner, Dr. Howard Zucker.

But some of the state's 700 testing sites are being underutlilized, especially those for drive-thrus and walk-ins, the governor said. Some of those that can conduct 15,000 tests daily are only doing 5,000, he said.

"Testing is really going to be very helpful in monitoring the virus, right?" Cuomo said, "We're all talking about, what is the spread of the virus … We have more sites and more testing capacity than we're using,” 

Factors like the rate of infection are crucial for understanding the extent of the virus' spread and are among the benchmarks guiding when and how the state's economy can reopen.

"The more tests, the better for the state, the better for society, the better for your family, the better for you," Cuomo said.

The reasons for the disparity in available tests and people taking them was unclear, but Cuomo said it could be an aversion to doctors or possibly fear of pain involved.

To illustrate the ease of the procedure, Cuomo stood up at the briefing and had a physician give him a COVID-19 test. Dressed from head to toe in protective gear, the physician used a long cotton swab and gently eased it into one of the governor's nasal passages.

"That is the whole test," Cuomo said after the procedure, which took less than 10 seconds. "I'm not in pain. I'm not in discomfort."

Cuomo said he expected the results later Sunday, and that if he does not attend Monday's briefing, it would mean he tested positive.

Among those eligible to get tests are those exhibiting symptoms or exposed to someone with a confirmed case of the coronavirus, as well as medical workers and essential workers who interact with the public. Employees who can return to their jobs during phase one of federal reopening guidelines, which includes construction and factory workers, can also get tested, Cuomo said.

There were 2,419 new people in the state who tested positive for the virus Saturday, according to state figures.

But COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in New York continued to drop, Cuomo said, with 374 people hospitalized statewide in the past 24 hours for the virus, down from 400 Saturday. He said 139 people have died of COVID-19 since Saturday, when 157 new deaths were reported.

Those statistics are important because seven different metrics must be met for an area to reopen, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Currently, Long Island has met five of the seven, according to the state's website. The two it has not met are trends in the number of deaths and the ability to trace contacts of those exposed to the virus.

Sunday, about 150 people gathered in East Meadow to protest government stay-at-home protocols and business closures ordered to stop the spread of the virus.

The protesters lined Hempstead Turnpike, waving American flags and holding signs that read “We must open,” “Freedom over fear” and “Trump 2020.”

The event followed similar demonstrations across the country in recent weeks, including another in Commack on Thursday that garnered national attention after some protesters berated a News 12 reporter.

Similar hostility toward the press was on display in East Meadow on Sunday, with some attendees shouting “fake news” at journalists on hand to cover the event.

Protesters said government measures to combat COVID-19 have caused major economic damage.

“My business is down 70%,” said Anthony Sabatino, a home inspector from Massapequa. “People have to work. I don’t want a government handout.” 

Karina Britez of Hicksville said people should be able to decide for themselves whether to stay home. “We are not forcing anybody to leave their homes, but we should have a choice,” she said.

Det. Lt. Richard LeBrun, a spokesman for the Nassau County Police Department, said protesters were “very compliant and respectful to law enforcement.”

At Cuomo's briefing, state Budget Director Robert Mujica said no decision had been made on the opening of summer camps, but he expected an announcement well before the end of June. 

Cuomo also said his administration would put out a directive Monday or Tuesday with "special provisions" for celebrating Memorial Day, which is May 25. The governor said he is considering allowing certain religious gatherings, such as for the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, provided social-distance rules and other safeguards meant to prevent transmission of coronavirus are in place.

“Can we find a way to do a ceremony — a religious ceremony, or a ceremony that honors Memorial Day? I think we can,” he said.

Shavuot, the Pentecost that celebrates God’s giving of the Jewish Torah at Mt. Sinai, begins the evening of May 28 and ends May 30.

All gatherings, including for religious purposes, have been banned in New York State since mid-March under a Cuomo-issued order to halt the spread of the virus. Nearly every mainstream Jewish organization has supported such a ban.

In Suffolk Sunday, Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone said 175 more people tested positive for COVID-19. The total number of positive tests in Suffolk stands at 38,117, Bellone said. Another 9,092 people in the county have tested positive in antibody tests.

Hospitalizations have fallen by 26 since Saturday to 513, Bellone said. Fifteen more people died of the virus, bringing the total number of deaths in Suffolk to 1,748, he said.

Bellone also said opening up Long Island beaches for Memorial Day is “the right thing to do” because people would flock to them regardless. And he again criticized the federal government’s decision to prohibit Memorial Day flag placing at national cemeteries. He said he has written another letter to the VA in the hopes officials will reverse their decision.

“It’s perverse to say we can invite people back to beaches…..in a safe way …. but we can’t safely go in and place flags at the graves of American heroes,” Bellone said. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Also Sunday, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran released a statement saying the county continues "to move in the right direction," recording a new low of 647 total COVID-19 hospitalizations. Nassau also reported 10 new deaths, bringing the county's total to 2,044. There were 103 new cases.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said beaches will be closed for the Memorial Day weekend and, like Cuomo, testing topped his agenda. De Blasio announced ramped-up efforts to provide coronavirus testing across the five boroughs.

Swimming, sports and parties will be banned at Coney Island, the Rockaways and other city beaches, de Blasio said, although he did not rule out opening beaches later this summer. Local residents will be permitted to walk along shorelines, but those who do not live near beaches are discouraged from traveling to them.

The city will construct fencing to limit access to beaches, and parks officials, he said, and the NYPD will increase patrols at beaches to enforce social distancing rules.