Andy nose how to test for virus
Claiming some New Yorkers are reluctant to seek coronavirus tests, Gov. Cuomo on Sunday took one himself on live national television.
“There is a general proclivity where … some people just don’t like to go to the doctor and don’t like to get tested,” he said at an Albany press conference. “But this test is not an invasive test.“
“It is so fast and so easy that even a governor can take this test,” he added.
With that, he stood up from a table and turned to face a doctor in full protective equipment, cracking jokes meanwhile.
Upon being told to close his eyes due to possible discomfort from the process of receiving a nasal swab, he said, “What if I fall asleep?”
“Then we’ll have you sit down,” the doc replied with a laugh.
The demonstration came after Cuomo announced the state has the capacity to conduct 40,000 COVID-19 tests per day — double the level from around mid-April.
That marks a major increase since the outbreak of the crisis, when New York officials, including Cuomo, were pleading with Washington for help acquiring the tests.
They were in such short supply that public health officials initially said only vulnerable populations, including the elderly and those with certain pre-existing health problems, should seek a test. City officials urged people to stay at home for about three days until getting one.
But on Sunday, Cuomo emphasized the latest guidelines for the tests, saying New Yorkers who meet any of the following criteria should get one: showing COVID-19 symptoms; coming into contact with a positive case; being “subject to a precautionary or mandatory quarantine;” working in health care, a nursing home or as a first responder; directly interacting with the public as an essential employee; and planning to return to work in “Phase 1” of the forthcoming reopening, which includes construction and other jobs.
Cuomo’s cheerful photoop came after weeks of accusations that he was slow to order the closure of businesses, schools and large venues, enabling the virus to claim thousands of lives.
On Saturday, 139 New Yorkers died — 106 of them in hospitals, 33 in nursing homes — according to the governor, bringing the state’s total confirmed deaths to 22,619.
There were 347 new hospitalizations, with a total of 5,897 New Yorkers hospitalized for the deadly virus.
The state had 350,121 coronavirus cases, according to the Health Department.
As horrifying as the numbers were, the new cases represented steady declines from last month, when there were 3,181 new cases on April 3 and 763 deaths on April 8.