New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Sunday took a coronavirus test in front of the cameras during his press briefing and urged any fellow New Yorkers with symptoms or having been exposed to the virus to follow his example.
"You don't have to be New York tough to take that test," he said during the live broadcast of his popular daily briefing, according to AFP.
"You have to be smart, united, disciplined; you have to love yourself, your family, New Yorkers," he added after the test.
"If I am not here tomorrow, that means I tested positive," Cuomo quipped. He has been tested several times previously, he said, but never before the public.
New York emerged as a COVID-19 hotspot in the US, with more than 350,000 cases and more than 22,000 confirmed deaths.
Cuomo said the criteria for being tested had been expanded to include not just those with flu-like symptoms, but also people returning to work, medical and nursing-home personnel, and anyone who interacts with the public at work or who has been exposed to a sick person.
"We just don't have enough New Yorkers coming to be tested," which is vitally important as parts of the state reopen some non-essential activities, the governor said.