Governor Cuomo Says NY In Halftime For Pandemic
WIVB-TV reports that for nearly two weeks, the daily positivity rate of COVID-19 tests in New York has been under one percent.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday morning that there were 631 positive tests on Tuesday. That means 0.7 percent of the roughly 80,000 tests were positive.“That is great news,” Cuomo says.
Unfortunately, Tuesday, six more New Yorkers lost their lives to COVID-19.
The Governor says New York is in “halftime,” using the sports term to indicate that New Yorkers while on the right track according to the numbers need to plan for what comes next.
Looking toward fall, Cuomo says flu season “poses a host of complexities,” with some symptoms of the flu and COVID-19 being very similar. “You’re in flu season. Who doesn’t have sniffles or a cough?” he says. “How do you do the flu tests and the COVID tests at the same time?”
Governor Cuomo believes the onset of flu season will lead to a reduction in testing for COVID-19.
In preparation for Fall New York State is sending out letters to county health departments, inquiring how they plan to do flu testing and coronavirus testing simultaneously.
Hospitals and first responders are all aware of the fact that the mix of the flu and the pandemic could again strain resources throughout the state.