‘Why didn’t I think of buying test kits from S. Korea like Gov. Hogan?’

Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, the most heavily-impacted state by COVID-19 in the U.S., highly praised Republican Gov. of Maryland Larry Hogan for buying 500,000 test kits from South Korea. Gov. Cuomo also shared a story that his three daughters questioned him, “Why didn’t you think of buying test kits from South Korea?”

“Last night I got home, I had my three daughters with me. Gov. Larry Hogan came on the news. My daughter turns to me, looks at me and says 'Wow, that was really smart.' I felt the immediate wave of guilt descend upon me,” said Gov. Cuomo during a regular press conference on Tuesday (local time). “Larry Hogan is a better governor. Why didn’t I think of buying test kits from South Korea?” As of Tuesday, the state of New York has over 250,000 confirmed cases and 14,000 deaths from COVID19. Along with other states, the New York state also struggled as it failed to secure test kits in time.

The governor of New York who has been criticizing U.S. President Donald Trump ever since the COVID-19 outbreak met the president at the White House on Tuesday. “The meeting went well and I think it was productive,” the governor said during an interview with MSNBC. He also added that it is their goal to double testing in the New York state from 20,000 to 40,000 per day by working with the federal government. The two sides also agreed to deploy the U.S. Navy’s hospital ship Comfort dispatched somewhere else. The Comfort was dispatched by the federal government to New York to provide care for general patients other than those with COVID-19.

Gov. Cuomo, however, pointed out that more support from the federal government is required in each state. “Let the federal government figure out South Korea, China, and international supply issue, rather than have 50 states now figure out how to go be like Governor Hogan and buy tests from South Korea,” he said.


Yong Park parky@donga.com