ALBANY, N.Y. — In a press conference Saturday morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo once again stressed the need for rapid testing in New York State. The governor says there are not enough tests being performed for any group of people or any city across the state.
New York officials reached out to the top 50 labs in the state and asked them what they need to double testing capacity. The labs say in order to increase testing, they need more chemical reagents. Cuomo says in order to assist the labs, the state needs help from the federal government.
Cuomo said New York State needs the federal government to oversee the supply chain to help the labs get what they need for testing. Cuomo also announced that the federal government has sent 1.5 million cloth masks to the state, which will be distributed to the public. He didn't say how they will be handed out.
As of Saturday morning, Cuomo says hospitalization numbers and intubations are down across the state. He added that emergency rooms are less crowded, but the pandemic is not over yet, and our society must continue flattening the curve.
“We are barely stabilizing our public health system now," Cuomo said. "We’re not at a point where we are going to be reopening anything immediately. Are we in the planning phase? Yes. Different numbers would suggest a different strategy.”
The governor added that parts of the state with lower numbers of infections will not be reopening ahead of other areas of the state. Cuomo says he is worried that people would flock to those reopened areas and would further spread the virus.
In addition, the governor's office will be signing another executive order to allow people to get marriage licenses remotely and to allow clerks to perform ceremonies remotely by video.