Cuomo Expanding Coronavirus Testing In Minority NY Communities

NEW YORK, NY — To address the disparity of the number of new coronavirus cases among low-income people and communities of color, New York is expanding access to testing in predominantly minority communities. At his Saturday new conference, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state will partner with Northwell Health and church groups in Westchester, Long Island and New York City.

Cuomo said it is a cruel irony that the poorest people often pay the highest price during a crisis.

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"We understand why, we understand the health disparities, but we understand that it is just not right," Cuomo said.

A total of 24 temporary testing sites will be set up at churches in predominantly minority communities. Northwell Health will provide the testing and the churches will provide the outreach, the governor said.

On Long Island, the First Baptist Cathedral of Westbury will open May 12-16 and Union Baptist Church in Hempstead will open May 19-23.

In Mount Vernon, a testing site will open May 12-16 at the Grace Baptist Church.

At her Saturday news conference, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said she's been expanding testing and encouraging people to get tested.

"I believe it's very important," she said. "And we have a lot of tests available and I want to get the word out. Everyone should know this testing is available."

According to the state Department of Health COVID-19 tracker, as of Saturday, there are now 333,122 confirmed positive coronavirus cases in the state. The number of new positives is 2,715, which is down from about 2,900 from Friday.

The number of new tests is 32,225, bringing the total number of individuals tested to 1,153,768.

Cuomo said 226 people have died of the coronavirus since Friday.

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