Governor Cuomo Departs for Savannah, Georgia to Help City with Fight Against COVID-19

Governor Will Host Roundtable Meeting with NYS Delegation, Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson and Savannah Health Care Team on Best Practices to Fight the Pandemic

Governor Cuomo: "I said, when I was younger and healthier looking, when we get past our apex, we will be there for anyone who needs help and whatever they need, we will be there. I said I'll drive personally and provide them with assistance. And again, that was a promise to pay forward that I made on behalf of New Yorkers and we're going to honor it."

Cuomo: "The federal government is still in denial about this virus. It still refuses to follow the science. It still thinks it's going to be this virus by playing politics. And I've said to the president from day one, this virus does not respond to politics. It doesn't respond to bullying. It doesn't respond to rhetoric. It doesn't respond to denial. It is the science. What did we do in New York? We did it as a science. We did it on the numbers. We did on the data. We're going to meet with Mayor Van Johnson and his team today, I've been speaking with the mayor. And we'll be in Savannah, Georgia - we'll tell them about what we did and will help them with testing programs, tracing programs. We're going to bring thousands of pieces of PPE and whatever they need from us they're going to get."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and members of NY's COVID-19 task force departed today for Savannah, Georgia to help the city in the fight against COVID-19 as it experiences a surge in positive cases and hospitalizations. In Savannah, the Governor will host a roundtable meeting with the New York State delegation, Savannah Mayor Van R. Johnson and the Savannah health care team to discuss best practices to fight the pandemic, including how to set up testing and contact tracing operations. Governor Cuomo will return to Albany this evening.

Members of the New York Delegation include:

Melissa DeRosa, Secretary to the Governor
Robert Mujica, State Budget Director
Jim Malatras, SUNY Empire State College President
Gareth Rhodes, Deputy Superintendent & Special Counsel at NYS Department of Financial Services, Member of COVID-19 Task Force
Larry Schwartz, Former Secretary to the Governor, Member of COVID-19 Task Force
Lisa Pino, Executive Deputy Commissioner at NYS Department of Health
Edgar Santana, Director of Downstate Regional Affairs

"When we were at our worst point with this virus in New York we have volunteers from all across the country come to help fight this dreaded disease, and now that we are past our apex we are ready to help any city or state with whatever they need," Governor Cuomo said. "Our federal government is still in denial about this virus and five months later this country is still totally unprepared to deal with this - I've been talking to other states and mayors and governors and they still don't have testing, tracing programs or PPE. We're going to meet with Mayor Van Johnson and his team today in Savannah, Georgia, we'll tell them about what we did, we will help them with testing and tracing programs, we're going to bring thousands of pieces of PPE and whatever they need from us they're going to get."

New York State is committed to helping other cities and states fight COVID-19 across the country. Last Thursday, Governor Cuomo announced that New York State has established two church testing sites in COVID-19 hotspots in Houston, Texas. On July 13, Governor Cuomo announced New York State will send testing and contract tracing teams to Atlanta, Georgia. On July 10, Governor Cuomo announced New York State would send the COVID-19 medication Remdesivir to Florida as the state struggles with a resurgence of cases.