NYC to provide updated wait times at virus testing sites, de Blasio says
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Monday new tools for the public to get updated wait times at coronavirus testing sites throughout the city as he urged New Yorkers to get tested whether or not they traveled for the Thanksgiving holiday.
The mayor said the city’s public NYC Health + Hospitals, officially the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, will post updates three times daily on the sites with the shortest wait times. Additionally, de Blasio said testandtrace.nyc will provide wait times at 51 of the city’s coronavirus testing centers.
Testing centers across the city have been plagued by long lines and public health officials have warned of a spike in cases due to Thanksgiving travel and gatherings.
"Testing is what we’re doubling down on now in New York City," de Blasio said, adding that 25 new testing sites had opened in the city over the last week.
The city reported 1,620 new cases on Monday and a 7-day average infection rate of 4.03%.
The mayor, speaking at his daily news briefing, also said in-person classes five days a week would be possible for at least "some" of the city’s schools slated to reopen beginning next week but he did not provide specifics.
The mayor announced Sunday that elementary, pre-k, 3-k schools would re-open on Dec. 7. Schools serving students with special needs will reopen on Dec. 10. That would put about 190,000 of the city’s 1 million-student school system back in a school building. Twenty percent of students at the reopened schools will undergo testing every week.
"Most will be able to get to 5 days over time," de Blasio said Monday. "Some as early as Monday, Dec. 7."
The mayor provided no timeline for getting middle school and high school students back to school for in-person instruction, saying he would assess the situation after the holiday season.
"I want us to move to middle school and high school as soon as we can, but we have to do one step at a time," said de Blasio, adding:
"This approach now with more testing, with mandatory consent forms, we believe we can sustain and take it through to the point where we have a vaccine."
The mayor also urged people to enjoy Wednesday’s Rockefeller Christmas Tree lighting from afar.
There will be no public access to the ceremony, which will air Wednesday night on NBC, but the public can sign up to see the tree in-person beginning Dec. 3, according to the tree lighting website. Organizers have set strict guidelines, including social distancing and a five-minute limit on visits.
"Please, if you can make the decision to watch it on TV, that’s so much better," de Blasio said.
Nicole Fuller is Newsday's senior criminal justice reporter. She began working at Newsday in 2012 and previously covered local government.
