Cuomo Calls for More Federal Assistance to Ramp up Testing

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is calling on state and federal government leaders to put aside their differences so they can work together to find solutions amid the 🦠Coronavirus Outbreak.

Cuomo is asking the federal government for more financial assistance to help states with the development of testing.

“Large-scale testing is a massive undertaking,” Cuomo tweeted. “We need the private sector to work with government to meet this enormous challenge. And we need the federal government to act.”

President Donald Trump tweeted his own thoughts shortly after.

“The States have to step up their TESTING!” Trump tweeted.

Cuomo is not alone in calling for more federal assistance to develop testing.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) believes Trump failed to include testing in his new guidelines to help states reopen their economies, as IJR previously reported.

“The testing regime is scattershot and totally inadequate for the job that’s needed to get the country back to work,” Schumer said.

The Senate Democratic leadership introduced a $30 billion proposal to implement a plan for testing.

Cuomo also announced he is issuing an executive order to prioritize testing.

“NEW: I’m issuing an Executive Order directing all public and private labs in NY to coordinate with the State Department of Health to ensure prioritizing diagnostic testing for public health and restarting the economy,” Cuomo tweeted.

New York state has become the epicenter of the coronavirus. As of Friday afternoon, the state is reporting over 222,000 confirmed cases and more than 12,000 deaths.

Cuomo denied Trump’s claim New York officials were inflating the state’s coronavirus death toll.

Cuomo made the decision to extend New York’s stay-at-home order by another two weeks, as IJR previously reported.

Six other states joined New York in taking a regional approach to reopening their economies.