Chris Rock, Rosie Perez Join Cuomo in Urging NYers to Wear Masks, Get Tested

For weeks, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has stressed the importance of wearing masks as a means to reduce the spread of coronavirus. However, he acknowledged that people may not want to listen to him on this particular topic -- so he has decided to bring reinforcements: two famous Brooklynites.

Comedian Chris Rick and actress Rosie Perez joined Cuomo during his Thursday coronavirus press briefing to emphasize the message and urge, not only other fellow Brooklynites, but New Yorkers in general to wear masks and get tested.

"I’m proud to be partnering with the governor to make sure that my hometown, my borough, my beloved borough of Brooklyn and all of New York's most impacted communities have the resources they need to stop the spread of this virus and to help spread the word about what we all have to do to beat this virus," Perez said.

Perez made a calling to the Hispanic community, one of the communities that has been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.

"To mi gente, oye, wear a mask, please," Perez said. "The numbers in our communities are staggering. This is not a joke. This is not a hoax. This is real."

Rock urged people to get tested as a means of protecting the elderly, who are most at-risk.

"If you love your grandmother and you love your elderly mother, your elderly anybody, you should get tested," he said.

The comedian also stressed that those who live in lower income as well as in heavily populated areas should get tested.

"Everybody that can get tested, should get tested as soon as possible," he said.

Past antibody testing data shows first responders have lower positivity rates than the population citywide, which Cuomo says prove masks work in reducing the spread of infection calling them "amazingly effective."

To drive home the point, Cuomo said he'd sign an executive order authorizing private businesses to deny entry to anyone not wearing a face-covering. His previous executive order mandating masks applied only to situations where people could not maintain a 6-foot distance from one another.

"We are giving the store owners the right to say if you are not wearing a mask, you can’t come in," Cuomo said. "That store owner has a right to protect themselves. That store owner has a right to protect the other patrons in that store. You don’t want to wear a mask? Fine, but you then don’t have a right to go into that store if that store owner doesn’t want you to."