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WPCNR THURSDAY GOVERNOR ANDREW CUOMO CORONAVIRUS BRIEFING. From the Governor’s Press Office. June 4, 2020:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced the state is expanding COVID-19 testing criteria to include any individual who attended any of the recent protests across the state.

The Governor encouraged any individual who attended a protest to get a test. More information on where and how to get tested for COVID-19 is available at https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov.

The Governor also announced the State Department of Financial Services will issue an emergency regulation to help businesses and consumers who suffered damage from looting and vandalism by requiring New York State-regulated insurance companies to expedite the resolution and payment of related insurance claims based on similar emergency relief applied in the aftermath of Super Storm Sandy.

Additional relief provided by the emergency regulation will include allowing policyholders to make immediate repairs to damaged property if necessary to protect health or safety, and to submit claims with reasonable proof of loss, including photos, so businesses don’t have to wait for police reports to file a claim.

The emergency regulation will also offer small businesses and consumers the option to resolve disputes through an impartial mediation process paid for by the applicable insurer.

Governor Cuomo also announced that schools will be permitted to hold drive-in and drive-through graduation ceremonies this year. The State will reexamine socially-distanced outdoor commencements at a later time.

The Governor also announced that medical schools statewide will be allowed to reopen on June 22nd, following appropriate precautions, in order to safely prepare for and welcome new cohorts of medical students this summer and fall. 

The Governor also announced the Mid-Hudson Valley is on track to enter phase two of reopening Tuesday, June 9th and Long Island is on track to enter phase two of reopening on Wednesday, June 10th following a review of regional data by global public health experts. 

“Testing is the most immediate data we have on where we are in this pandemic, giving us a fast snapshot of how many people are being infected,” Governor Cuomo said. “Our numbers have been going down every day, but now we have tens of thousands of people who have been protesting statewide that could lead to new spread of the virus. We’re going to open the testing facilities for all people who were at a protest statewide and encourage any individual who attended any protest to be responsible and get tested.”

Finally, the Governor also confirmed 1,048 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 375,133 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 375,133 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	1,930	10
Allegany	49	0
Broome	593	4
Cattaraugus	91	1
Cayuga	96	0
Chautauqua	95	6
Chemung	137	0
Chenango	133	0
Clinton	97	0
Columbia	400	1
Cortland	41	0
Delaware	82	0
Dutchess	3,962	11
Erie	6,308	74
Essex	38	0
Franklin	23	0
Fulton	215	2
Genesee	205	3
Greene	241	0
Hamilton	5	0
Herkimer	113	0
Jefferson	74	0
Lewis	20	0
Livingston	120	0
Madison	319	0
Monroe	3,081	33
Montgomery	96	2
Nassau	40,713	69
Niagara	1,085	18
NYC	205,406	534
Oneida	1,069	11
Onondaga	2,295	39
Ontario	218	3
Orange	10,471	11
Orleans	247	1
Oswego	112	0
Otsego	73	0
Putnam	1,268	4
Rensselaer	495	0
Rockland	13,280	21
Saratoga	493	4
Schenectady	701	0
Schoharie	51	0
Schuyler	12	0
Seneca	60	0
St. Lawrence	207	1
Steuben	245	2
Suffolk	40,153	91
Sullivan	1,405	12
Tioga	133	0
Tompkins	165	0
Ulster	1,704	3
Warren	256	0
Washington	238	0
Wayne	121	1
Westchester	33,767	76
Wyoming	87	0
Yates	39	0