Cuomo says state to test thousands for Covid-19 antibodies

New York will begin testing thousands of residents this week for Covid-19 antibodies as the state moves to reopen the economy in the coming weeks and months, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday.

With data suggesting the coronavirus has passed its apex in New York, Cuomo said health officials will begin conducting an initial 2,000 antibody tests per day — or 14,000 a week — on a random sample of New Yorkers in addition to its diagnostic testing for the virus.

But that effort, which he cast as the “most aggressive statewide antibody testing survey in the nation,” still falls short of the capacity needed to screen the state’s 9 million person workforce and 19 million residential population for Covid-19 — an essential part of any reopening strategy, Cuomo noted.

“Any plan that is going to start to reopen the economy has to be based on data and that means it has to be based on testing," he said during an afternoon news conference in Manhasset. "You have all these scientists and all these experts who are basically trying to extrapolate from the data, but we don't really know how many people were infected — how many people had coronavirus but self-resolved?"

“We don't really know because we haven't been able to do testing on that large a scale, but we're going to start, and we're going to start here in the state of New York with antibody testing.”

Findings from the tests, Cuomo said, will offer “the first true snapshot of what we're really dealing with” in terms of Covid-19 exposure in New York.

More than 617,000 New Yorkers have been tested for Covid-19 as of midnight on Saturday, 242,786 of whom were positive for the virus, state health officials reported. Nearly 14,000 people have died from Covid-19 in the state.

The governor reiterated his call for the federal government to work with New York and other states on addressing the logistical and supply chain issues that hinder their ability to enhance testing capacity.

“The states must do their part and the federal government must do its part,” Cuomo said when asked about President Donald Trump's Twitter assertion that his administration will support governors, but they “must be able to step up and get the job done” on testing. “Perfect, that’s called partnership, I agree," Cuomo said.

But, Cuomo added, it’s important that the federal government pass legislation to help state and local governments respond to the pandemic. Failure to do so, he contended, could result in broad cuts to hospitals and schools, among other things.

“If you don't help the state government and local governments, then how are we supposed to have the finances to reopen?” he said.

Cuomo on Friday directed laboratories across the state to coordinate with the state Department of Health to ensure prioritization of coronavirus-related diagnostic and antibody testing.