Biotech exec, family with ties to Cuomo received early access to COVID tests: Report

NEW YORK - The criticism of Gov. Andrew Cuomo — along with calls for his removal — continues to mount. According to a report in The New York Times, George Yancopolous, the president of Regeneron, and his family received state-administered coronavirus tests last March at home.

The revelations follow reports that Cuomo’s brother, Chris, and mother, Matilda, also received preferential testing treatment even as ordinary New Yorkers struggled to find tests.

The news about Yancopolous came as loved ones of many of those who contracted the virus at nursing homes gathered in Foley Square to mark one year since the state-directed nursing homes to accept covid patients. The decision has generated a torrent of backlash. Demonstrators called on state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to launch a state investigation into the matter.

One of those in attendance, Vivian Zayas, lost her mother, Ana Martinez. Martinez contracted the virus at a nursing home on Long Island. Zayas lamented the fact that Cuomo’s mother received far better treatment than her own.

"I had a Matilda that I would protect, that I watched over, that I was an advocate for, and he protected his Matilda and sacrificed mine," Zayas said.

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