Gov. Cuomo takes coronavirus test in bid to encourage New Yorkers to do same

NEW YORK — Claiming some New Yorkers are reluctant to seek coronavirus tests, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Sunday took one himself on live national television.

“There is a general proclivity where … some people just don’t like to go to the doctor and don’t like to get tested,” he said at an Albany news conference. “But this test is not an invasive test.

“It is so fast and so easy that even a governor can take this test,” he added.

With that, he stood up from a table and turned to face a doctor in full protective equipment, cracking jokes meanwhile.

Upon being told to close his eyes due to possible discomfort from the process of receiving a nasal swab, he said, “What if I fall asleep?”

“Then we’ll have you sit down,” the doctor replied with a laugh.

The demonstration came after Cuomo announced the state has the capacity to conduct 40,000 covid-19 tests per day.

That marks a major increase since the outbreak of the crisis, when New York officials including Cuomo were pleading with Washington for help acquiring the tests.

They were in such short supply that public health officials initially said only vulnerable populations including the elderly and those with certain preexisting health conditions should seek a test. New York City officials urged people to stay at home for about three days until getting one.

But on Sunday, Cuomo emphasized the latest guidelines for the tests, saying New Yorkers who meet any of the following criteria should get one: showing covid-19 symptoms; coming into contact with a positive case; being “subject to a precautionary or mandatory quarantine”; working in health care, a nursing home or as a first responder; directly interacting with the public as an essential employee; and planning to return to work in “Phase 1” of the upcoming reopening, which includes construction and other jobs.

Cuomo’s cheerful photo-op came as the state’s number of new hospitalizations and fatalities continued to decline.

On Saturday, 139 New Yorkers died — 106 of them in hospitals, 33 in nursing homes — according to the governor, bringing the state’s total number of confirmed deaths to 22,619.

There were 347 new hospitalizations, with a total of 5,897 New Yorkers hospitalized for the deadly virus.

The state had 350,121 coronavirus cases, according to the Health Department.