New York State follows science in combating COVID-19: governor

New York State has been doing what the scientists say to encounter the COVID-19 pandemic and the results are meeting expectations, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday.

"We follow the science. We follow the fact. This is a virus. It doesn't respond to politics. Just listen to the scientists," said the governor told ABC's talk show "The View".

He briefly introduced the Micro-Cluster strategy adopted by the state government to contain the coronavirus, adding that such a strategy will help New York live through the upcoming hardship.

"Testing is the best thing the state can do. We can target actual neighborhoods. Find those little increases, and attack them before they spread," he said.

While the scientists have said that the situation is going to get worse in the fall, the state is actively preparing for it and even the post-pandemic era, according to the governor.

"I expect we'll see a gradual incline in the cases in New York. Keep the incline low through the fall, and then get ready for the vaccine which is going to be a major real challenge to this country," he added.

The governor also mentioned that New York State's COVID-19 test positivity rate on a 7-day average lately ranked the second-lowest in the United States, at 1.39 percent, right after Maine with 0.77 percent, according to Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center (CRC).

As of Thursday evening, the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University recorded 33,444 COVID-19 deaths so far in New York State, the worst in the country. (/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )