NYC to open 15 coronavirus testing sites for protesters, Gov. Cuomo says

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that the state will open 15 coronavirus testing centers solely for protesters — urging marchers to “act responsibly and get a test” amid concerns that the large anti-police-brutality rallies sweeping New York City are spreading the deadly contagion.

With the Big Apple finally set to begin re-opening under Phase One of state guidelines Monday amid the pandemic, officials are worried that the large local protests over George Floyd’s death at the hands of cops in Minneapolis could send New York’s coronavirus cases soaring again, the governor said.

“That is the one variable in this [coronavirus] equation that we’re not sure of — the effect of these protests, and we’re concerned about it,” Cuomo said at his daily press briefing.

“I would act as if you were exposed, and I would tell people you interacted with, ‘Assume I’m exposed to the virus,’ ” Cuomo said of the protesters.

He said the state will be looking at the infection rate “on a daily basis” to see whether re-openings might have to be pulled back.

He said it will likely take a week to see whether the rallies had any substantial effect on the spread of COVID-19.

“If you were at a protest several days ago, [infection] probably wouldn’t show up [now], but when you get at seven days, you will start to see a pop in those numbers” if the protests caused the disease to spread, Cuomo said.

“If you were at a protest … act responsibly, get a test,” he said.

Cuomo added that as of Saturday, statistics show that “overall, numbers are good” when it comes to the state’s battle against the coronavirus.

He said 781 people, or about 1 percent, tested positive for the virus in the state Saturday out of the 60,435 people were received testing that day — the lowest rate since March 16, even before the state began closing down.