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‘It Is Not Surprising’: CNN Defends Chris Cuomo Receiving Preferential COVID-19 Testing From NY Governor Brother

SiriusXM's Chris Cuomo Hosts A Bipartisan Conversation With Former Governors Christine Todd Whitman And Jennifer Granholm

Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Maria Lencki Contributor
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A CNN spokesman defended host Chris Cuomo receiving prioritized COVID-19 testing after reports surfaced that his brother, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, gave family prioritized COVID-19 tests during shortages in the early days of the pandemic.

Matt Dornic, a CNN spokesman, released a statement about Chris Cuomo’s coronavirus testing.

“We generally do not get involved in the medical decisions of our employees,” he said in the statement shared by Erik Wemple of The Washington Post. “However, it is not surprising that in the earliest days of the once-in-a-century global pandemic, when Chris was showing symptoms and was concerned about the possible spread, he turned to anyone he could for advice and assistance, as any human being would.”

Andrew Cuomo has recently been slammed after anonymous sources told The Washington Post and the Times Union that Cuomo prioritized COVID-19 tests for his family and during the test shortages in the beginning stages of the pandemic.

The governor’s mother, brother and at least one sister were tested for COVID-19, often at their private residences, sources told the Times Union.

Administration officials declined to comment to The Washington Post on the matter, however, Cuomo’s senior advisor Richard Azzopardi made a statement about the allegations. (RELATED:‘Specials’: Cuomo Prioritized COVID-19 Testing For His Own Relatives, Other VIPs During Shortage)

“We should avoid insincere efforts to rewrite the past,” Azzopardi said. “In the early days of this pandemic, when there was a heavy emphasis on contact tracing, we were absolutely going above and beyond to get people testing — including in some instances going to people’s homes — and door to door in places like New Rochelle — to take samples from those believed to have been exposed to COVID in order to identify cases and prevent additional ones.”