New Yorkers are advised to get tested, get vaccinated, mask up, & stay home.
In response to NYC’s recent uptick in COVID-19 cases and the Omnicron variant surge, Mayor Bill de Blasio, along with NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Dave Chokshi and Dr. Ted Long, addressed the city this morning with plans to keep NYC safe during the holiday season.
According to Dr. Chokshi, “the seven-day average for new cases has tripled in the last month” and all five boroughs are currently in high transmission.
Omicron is here in NYC and spreading quickly. We’re seeing a surge of #COVID19 cases ahead of the holidays – the 7-day average for new cases has tripled in the last month. All boroughs remain in high transmission. 🧵
— Commissioner Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD (@NYCHealthCommr) December 16, 2021
The media conference announced six approaches NYC will undertake to fight against this variant, and they’re as follows:
1. Health advisory for New Yorkers to get tested, vaccinated, & boosted
2. Increase testing capacity
3. Distribute free, one million KN95 masks throughout community organizations and clinics
4. Distribute rapid at-home tests
5. Double down on boosters
6. Double down on inspections and enforcements
“I have faith in my fellow New Yorkers. We can shape our destiny and keep our city as protected as possible by taking these steps that I’ve outlined,” said Dr. Choksi.
NYC will open new testing sites (both mobile & brick-and-mortar), in addition to expanding hours and capacity at existing testing sites. Therefore, all NYC testing sites will remain open 7 days a week to ensure New Yorkers have the opportunity to keep themselves and others safe by getting tested.
Furthermore, one million KN95 masks and 500,000 at-home tests will be distributed through community-based organizations.
We’re distributing 1 MILLION KN95 masks through community-based organizations, clinics and Test & Trace.
AND we’re handing out 500,000 at-home tests through community organizations.
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) December 16, 2021
Mayor de Blasio affirmed that the city will be stricter on inspections to ensure that businesses are complying with all new mandates.
Here’s the bottom line. We got to stop this variant…I’ve talked to a lot of people in the business community and they say something very clear, very simple. COVID is bad for business. Shutdowns are bad for business. Restrictions are bad for business. We can’t let that happen again. And so, the mandates that we put in place are the way forward. We’re going to double down on those and make sure they’re being followed.
New Yorkers can expect more information in the coming days.
To learn more, see here.