ALBANY — Gov. Andrew Cuomo says he will ask the federal government to take a larger role in coronavirus testing when he and President Donald Trump meet on Tuesday afternoon in the White House.
Cuomo has been emphasizing the importance of widespread testing in recent days as New York's caseload decreases and the conversation begins to focus on restarting the regional economy.
“I get the instinct to distance yourself from [testing], but it is a situation where you need everybody to work together and you need to understand quickly who’s in a better position to do what,” Cuomo said during a briefing in Buffalo.
Cuomo said he agrees with Trump’s position that states should craft plans for when and how to reopen businesses and schools, and said he is more than happy to coordinate labs and tracing in New York.
But he said he doesn't have the time or ability to navigate the international supply chain issues to acquire additional testing capacity that will be necessary to decide when it’s safe for portions of the state to begin reopening. That’s a role for the federal government, he said. Not everyone can find 500,000 tests in South Korea as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan did, Cuomo said.
Half-kidding, the governor said his three daughters saw an item about Hogan's purchase on the news and asked him why he didn't come up with that idea.
Cuomo insisted that despite a more aggressive back-and-forth with the president in recent days, the two Queens natives share a general sentiment to play it straight in their communications.
“Being in government is a fine line. I’ll tell you how I negotiate the fine line.
You tell the truth,” he said.Cuomo’s schedule indicates that he and the president will meet at 3 p.m., but the White House schedule says it will take place at 4 p.m. The president's daily coronavirus briefing usually begins at about 5 p.m.