ALBANY—New York State officials announced that the state will invest in private companies to bring rapid COVID-19 testing to scale and accelerate testing capacity.
Businesses interested in working with the state to manufacture these rapid tests on a large scale should contact Empire State Development at 212-803-3100 or COVID19supplies@esd.ny.gov.
Interested businesses should refer to this website—https://esd.ny.gov/sourcing-covid-19-products-nys — to obtain guidance on how to help New York State source COVID medical products.
The web page advises manufacturers interested in making these supplies, to first review the detailed information on the website that includes new guidance from the FDA and CDC. For most of the critically needed products, a company will likely be required to obtain federal certification to begin manufacturing and sales. The web page also details the critical medical supplies and personal protective equipment that are needed, including: ventilators, COVID-19 test kits, Personal Protective Equipment, drugs and consumables.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo also announced on Tuesday that the State Department of Health has developed a test to detect antibodies to the COVID-19 infection in an individual's blood. This test is an important step towards determining whether New Yorkers are developing immunity and when they could potentially return to work or school, state officials said.
In addition, the Governor issued a letter to New York's Congressional Delegation outlining the state's needs in the next federal COVID-19 legislation. The previous COVID-19 stimulus bills failed to adequately address New York's revenue losses and included restrictions affecting the state's Medicaid reforms, the governor noted.
The governor announced an agreement with the largest student loan servicers in New York to obtain relief for student loan borrowers experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19 who contact their private student loan servicer. Available relief includes 90 days of deferred monthly payments, waived late fees, no negative reporting to credit agencies, and enrolling eligible borrowers in available long-term assistance program. The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, only provides relief to borrowers whose loans are owned by the federal government. This agreement with the student loan industry provides much-needed relief to these outstanding borrowers whose loans are privately owned.
The New York State Department of Financial Services will issue guidance that reflects and complements the State's agreement with the private student loan industry and that also directs regulated student loan servicers to quickly and appropriately implement the relief provided by the federal CARES Act for borrowers whose loans are federally owned. New York student loan borrowers should visit DFS' website for more information about available student loan relief.
