Get tested for COVID-19 before and after holiday gatherings, NYC mayor advises
Children walk by a COVID-19 mobile unit after getting their first dose of the vaccine outside PS 277 in the Bronx on Nov. 5. Credit: AP / Eduardo Munoz Alvarez
Mayor Bill de Blasio and New York City health officials offered new guidance on Wednesday for people getting together with others over the holidays: Get tested for COVID-19 before and after the event.
The guidance applies to everyone, the mayor said, even those who are vaccinated celebrating the holidays with vaccinated people.
"Get tested, because you'll know you're safe. You'll know what's going on and, God forbid you get a positive, you know what to do," he said at his daily news briefing Wednesday.
Dr. Ted Long, director of the city's Test and Trace Corps, said people traveling to see loved ones should also get a test after the event, before they return home.
"Before you come home, get tested again because you don't want to bring COVID back home," Long said.
Dr. Sharon Nachman, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at Stony Brook Children's Hospital, said she's concerned that holiday gatherings could pose a risk, but she's also happy that so many people were going into these holidays vaccinated.
"I think it's a concern, but with the appropriate guidance people can get together," Nachman said. "Think about the number of people coming, encourage vaccinations and COVID testing."
What to know
- People should get tested for COVID-19 before and after attending holiday gatherings, New York City officials said.
- Watch for symptoms after coming home from an event, and even wear a mask more often in those early days, rather than getting tested, suggests one Long Island doctor.
- At least 2.6 million U.S. children age 5 to 11 have received a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in the past two weeks, according to the White House.
- Thus far, 75,000 New York City children age 5 to 11 have gotten the COVID-19 shot, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
- About 60% of Americans support coronavirus vaccine mandates for health care workers, first responders, teachers and airline pilots, a new national poll found.
Nachman said she agreed that getting tested ahead of time is a good idea, but she had some reservations about the city officials' advice to get tested right after the gathering, before heading home.
"That may be too soon to detect any infection," she said, noting that it takes a few days before the virus makes itself known.
Nachman suggested watching for symptoms after coming home, and even wearing a mask more often in those early days.
Dr. Frederick Davis, associate chair of emergency medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, says that concern rises whenever the colder months come and people spend more time indoors.
"But it's definitely a lot better than last year," he said.
Davis recommended that people take precautions such as washing their hands before they eat the holiday dinner, covering their mouths when they sneeze and limiting direct contact with other people.
Testing before heading out "is a way to safeguard yourself and others," he said.
But he also recommended holding off testing afterward for at least three days to ensure the test picks up the virus.
The COVID-19 testing guidance applies to everyone who will attend holiday gatherings, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday. Credit: Mayoral Photography Office / Ed Reed via TNS
On Long Island, the testing-positivity rate, as averaged over seven days, continued to trend upward: it was 3.33% on Sunday, 3.48% on Monday and 3.59% on Tuesday, according to a news release from Gov. Kathy Hochul's office.
The statewide seven-day rate is also trending upward. It was 3.30% Sunday, 3.40% Monday and 3.47% Tuesday, the data shows.
Nassau had 387 new cases and Suffolk had 432 cases Tuesday. New York City logged 1,190 new cases.
The state had 31 deaths related to COVID-19 on Tuesday, including two from Suffolk, the data shows.
Holiday travel is "coming back," de Blasio said. He urged people to get vaccinated and obtain a booster shot, as well.
The mayor also said 75,000 children ages 5 to 11 have gotten the shot since the effort began two weeks ago.
"That's a great start," de Blasio said.
The White House says about 10% of eligible kids age 5 to 11 have received a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine since its approval for their age group two weeks ago.
At least 2.6 million kids have received a shot, White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said Wednesday, with 1.7 million doses administered in the last week alone, roughly double the pace of the first week after approval. It's more than three times faster than the rate of adult inoculations at the start of the nation's vaccination campaign 11 months ago.
Kids who get their first vaccine dose by the end of this week will be fully vaccinated by Christmas, assuming they get their second shot three weeks after the first one, he said.
Elsewhere, a new national poll found that about 60% of Americans support coronavirus vaccine mandates for health care workers, first responders, teachers and airline pilots.
In addition, 55% of Americans support vaccine mandates for students age 12 and older, according to the poll by Long Island University Steven S. Hornstein Center for Policy, Polling and Analysis.
Roughly half of Americans (51%) support vaccine mandates for all employees across the country, the poll said.
A total of 60% said they supported vaccines for children age 5 to 11, the poll said.
A total of 39% say they believe the worst of the pandemic is over, up 16 percentage points since September at the height of the spread of the delta variant, the poll said.
With AP
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Craig Schneider is a Long Island native and Stony Brook University alumnus. He joined Newsday as a general assignment reporter in January 2018 after 20 years at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
