How to fix the testing mess.
 | By Max Strasser International Editor, Opinion |
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Back when I last lived in New York, I thought of the state’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, mostly as the guy to blame for the subway being in such terrible shape. But that was two and a half years and a pandemic ago. |
There’s no doubt that in the early days of the coronavirus, he made some serious missteps. And those mistakes seem to have resulted in far more people dead than there needed to be. (If you don’t believe me, revisit this investigation by my colleague in the newsroom J. David Goodman.) But since then, Mr. Cuomo has become something like the face of coronavirus competence in a country that — at least from my vantage point some 4,000 miles away in London — seems less than competent. |
For now at least, New York is one of the few places in America that has the virus under control. What did the state do? Well, among other things it figured out how to do testing. Lots of it. It still may not be enough — and it’s probably not fast enough — but it seems to be working better than most places in America. |
In an Op-Ed, Mr. Cuomo outlined four steps that other states can take to follow New York’s lead: Mobilize smaller local labs, streamline the supply chain, invest in innovative solutions, and fund all necessary testing. Read the whole piece to get more details on what that means. |
I still have my disagreements with the governor on matters of substance and style (did he really have to rename my favorite bridge after his father?) but as I watch from London and worry about my friends and family in the United States, I hope that the federal government and the states can figure out a way to slow the spread and flatten the curve. Maybe they need to listen to Mr. Cuomo this time. |
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