The preliminary results are in from New York's first round of statewide coronavirus antibody testing; the testing that Governor Andrew Cuomo says will guide when the state can reopen.
They tested about 3,000 people in 40 locations across the state, mainly in grocery stores. It turns out that statewide, about 14 percent of New Yorkers have been infected and carry the COVID-19 antibodies. That works out to about 2.7 million people infected, of whom 15,500 have died.
Governor Cuomo released the numbers at his Thursday morning briefing. They show about 21 percent infection rates in New York City and its suburbs, about 17 percent for Long Island and just 3.6 percent infection rate for all of Upstate New York. The age breakdown of the numbers if fairly even; the racial breakdown shows a greater percentage of Asians, Latinos and African Americans infected than White New Yorkers.
Cuomo says these numbers support regional decision making, but he also says Upstate regions will have to coordinate their reopenings with the state, to avoid New York City residents who remain shut down flooding into Upstate towns looking to get away from the shutdown.
Governor Cuomo also announced there will be a statewide investigation of how nursing homes have performed during the coronavirus crisis. It will be conducted jointly by the State Attorney General's Office and the State Department of Health. He says any nursing homes that failed to follow the state's emergency guidelines will face fines or possible loss of their license.
Finally, the governor called U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "irresponsible and reckless" for his comment that states should declare bankruptcy because of the coronavirus crisis. Cuomo called that "one of the really dumb ideas of all time" and said states like New York, Michigan or Illinois declaring bankruptcy would crash the national economy.