MANHASSET – New York State is going to start COVID-19 anti-body testing “in an aggressive way” immediately, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Sunday during his daily briefing.
That testing will show how many people contracted the virus and since resolved it. It is hoped that the anti-bodies from those people can be used to develop a vaccine to fight the deadly disease.
Cuomo said the testing, though, must be a partnership between the state and federal government
He also said Congress must adopt legislation to help states re-open. Without that funding from Washington, the governor said New York is looking at education funding cuts of 50 percent.
The rate of new hospitalizations is down and has passed the high point and is on the descent, but that can only continue if New Yorkers continue to practice the safeguards they have been doing for weeks, Cuomo said. “This is only half-time in this situation. We have a whole second phase,” he said. “The beast is still alive.”
On Saturday, 507 people died in New York from COVID-19.
