New York Intensifies Testing While Deaths Increase More Slowly

(Bloomberg) -- New York is ramping up testing as it moves toward reopening parts of the state less hit by the new coronavirus, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

A week ago, the state was testing an average 20,000 people a day. It is now testing 30,000 daily and is working with the federal government to reach 40,000. New York still isn’t where it needs to be, but it’s a “dramatic increase,” Cuomo said Wednesday.

“We have been very aggressive in testing and we have made great progress,” he said.

New York added 330 deaths on April 28, “still disgustingly high” according to Cuomo, but the fourth-straight day of decline. Hospitalizations and intubations are down slightly, but nearly 1,000 people are admitted to hospitals with Covid-19 each day.

Cuomo said the state will allow hospitals to start elective surgeries again in 35 of 62 counties that have few cases. This includes several hospitals upstate, but not those in New York City. Elective surgeries bring in revenue to hospitals reeling from the impact of the disease.

New York needs to heed caution signs from other areas that opened too fast, Cuomo said. In Germany, for example, the infection guage known as R0 -- pronounced R nought -- was below 1 in mid-April, but rose to 1 after restrictions were relaxed. A rate of 1 means that for every person infected, another contracts the virus; a rate less than 1 implies the pandemic is shrinking.

Cuomo on Wednesday released the initial results from antibody testing of city police officers, emergency responders and firemen. The results showed 17.1% of firemen and emergency responders and 10.5% of the police department had been exposed to the disease.

New York is beginning antibody testing of transit workers, with an initial 1,000 tests this week, Cuomo said.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.