NYS Coronavirus Update: Prioritizing Testing for Children With Symptoms of Inflammatory Illness -- Why We Wear Masks in Public

May 12, 2020

From Governor Cuomo @ 7:53 PM on May 12:

Why wear a mask? Out of respect. When you wear a mask you are saying, I respect my neighbors. When you wear a mask you are saying, I respect nurses and doctors. When you wear a mask you are saying, I respect other people. We all need to show respect to one another in difficult times. Wearing a face covering is a small inconvenience to protect others. We have gotten through this crisis by standing together and doing the right thing. The right thing — the respectful thing — is to wear a mask.

Skibird flies over Albany.
Photo of the Day: The LC-130 "Skibird" from the NY Air National Guard's 109th Airlift Wing flew over Albany to salute first responders and essential workers
(Photo by Mike Groll)
Here's what else you need to know tonight:

1. I am directing hospitals statewide to prioritize COVID-19 testing for children displaying symptoms of multi-system inflammatory syndrome. We are currently investigating approximately 100 reported cases in New York where children are experiencing a potentially COVID-related illness that has serious symptoms. It's crucial that children hospitalized with these symptoms are tested for COVID-19.

2. Twelve Members of Congress will introduce the 'Americans First Law' to help prevent corporate bailouts following the COVID-19 pandemic. On Sunday, I proposed a new federal law that would forbid corporations from getting government bailouts if they don't rehire the same number of employees they had before the COVID-19 pandemic. Twelve Congresswomen and men from our great state have agreed to propose this law that puts workers first.


3. Total COVID hospitalizations are still dropping. Total hospitalizations fell to 7,063, from 7,226 the day before. The number of new COVID hospitalizations dropped to 401, from 488 the day before. Tragically, we lost 195 New Yorkers to Coronavirus yesterday.


4. See how many criteria your region meets to begin reopening on the Regional Monitoring Dashboard. The regions that meet all seven metrics are ready to begin Phase 1 of a phased-in, carefully monitored reopening starting on May 15th. Visit the dashboard here.


5. The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health launched a free online course to train contact tracers. This course is part of New York's large-scale effort to build an army of contact tracers. If you are interested in becoming part of New York's contract tracing efforts, learn more here.


Tonight's "Deep Breath Moment": Despite being closed, the Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens is continuing to educate through a virtual exhibit experience. The museum is using articles and audio recordings to provide a look into the jazz icon's life.

andrew-cuomo-news-conference.jpgIf you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe to New York State's Coronavirus Updates here.
Ever Upward,
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo