New York officials ask Floyd protesters to get coronavirus test done

New York : New York City is set to re-open after two months of coronavirus lockdown and the police officials have lifted up the curfew they had put in place after the Floyd protests. The officials also urged the protesters to undergo the coronavirus test.

Get a test. Get a test, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo urged people who have been participating in rallies and marches in memory of George Floyd.

He mentioned that there will be 15 testing sites which will be dedicated for the testing of protesters which will produce results rapidly than normal testing labs. "I would act as if you were exposed, and I would tell people you are interacting with, assume I am positive for the virus," Cuomo added.

The call is similar to what officials in cities like Seattle, San Francisco and Atlanta have made following massive demonstrations, with free testing set up for protesters who may have been exposed to the virus.

"There is a pandemic going on out there. People are aware of that. I don't think any of us have forgotten that's happening," Jennifer Cota, who was protesting in a Seattle suburb, told KCPQ-TV. It's still a risk a lot of people are willing to take.

The U.S. leads the world with nearly 110,000 confirmed virus-related deaths, with New York state accounting for more than 30,000 since the pandemic began, according to Johns Hopkins University.