Cuomo Tells Hospitals To Test For New Coronavirus Strain

NEW YORK CITY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo instructed hospitals across New York to start testing for a new, highly-contagious variant of coronavirus.

The new strain arose in the UK — where it prompted a wave of strict new lockdown and worldwide restrictions on British travelers — and has yet to show up in the state, Cuomo said Tuesday.

But Cuomo warned its arrival could be the start of a true coronavirus “second wave” akin to the 1918 influenza pandemic when that virus underwent a deadlier mutation.

"If the variant is here, I want to know, because that would be problematic,” he said.

Cuomo previously called for increased travel restrictions on UK travelers destined for JFK Airport, if not an outright ban. His public entreaties prompted executives for the three airlines — British Airways, Delta and Virgin Atlantic — to voluntarily require coronavirus tests for passengers on UK flights heading to New York.

His latest announcement on testing is focused on finding — and hopefully isolating — the contagious new variant if it’s within New York.

Anthony Fauci, the renowned infectious disease expert and director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, believes the strain is already in the U.S., Cuomo said.

“Not that he has evidence of that, but I assume he's referring to the phenomenon of global spread and how quickly it spreads,” Cuomo said.

Cuomo said the state’s Wadsworth Laboratory is coordinating research and testing for the new variant. The state has agreements with six hospitals, including Montefiore and Memorial Sloan Kettering, to share additional samples in the search for the virus, he said.

Additional agreements will be forged in the near future, he said.

A search through 3,700 virus sequences didn’t find the variant, officials said.