You are reading

City to Offer Onsite COVID-19 Testing and Additional Staff to Nursing Homes: Mayor

(Stock: Pexels)

May 20, 2020 By Allie Griffin

Mayor Bill de Blasio outlined a new plan today to combat coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes across the five boroughs.

The city will offer onsite COVID-19 testing, additional personnel at all 169 nursing homes in New York City beginning next week. It will also create an outbreak response team with members of the health department to control coronavirus infections at nursing homes.

Nursing homes have been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. The virus has killed more than 3,000 nursing home residents just in New York City — including 916 residents in Queens homes, as of yesterday.

“This crisis has clearly been so tough on the oldest New Yorkers, and it has shown us, once again, we have to redouble our efforts to help those who are most vulnerable,” de Blasio said at City Hall. “And some of the folks who have had the toughest time [are] our seniors who live in nursing homes.”

The city will provide the resources needed so all 169 nursing homes will be collectively able to test up to 3,000 people per day. This is in addition to any of their existing testing capacity provided by New York State.

“As many test kits as the nursing home needs, we will provide,” de Blasio said, adding that the city will continue to provide testing to nursing homes for as long as necessary.

“If this needs to go on for months and months, we will continue for months and months, whatever it takes,” he said. “As long as we’re fighting this crisis, we will make sure that all nursing homes have the testing capacity they need in New York City.”

The city will also provide personnel to nursing homes, where staff members are out sick with COVID-19 or need additional support.

“Anyone who tests positive who works in a nursing home has to stay away for 14 days. You’re going to have staffing shortages,” de Blasio said. “We are committed, the city of New York is committed to filling those gaps, to making sure there’s enough personnel for every nursing home.”

The city has already placed 240 additional personnel in nursing homes citywide and will continue to do so to meet the goal of 600 personnel total.

Lastly, the Department of Health has created 10 outbreak response teams which will be deployed to nursing homes and other congregate settings to help control outbreaks. Each team will be led by an epidemiologist and have mental health and infection control specialists as members.

“The second there’s any sign of a problem, this team can go and can oversee the response, can help control infections,” de Blasio said.
email the author: [email protected]

One Comment

Click for Comments 

Leave a Comment
Reply to this Comment

All comments are subject to moderation before being posted.


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent News

CM Moya announces support for massive Metropolitan Park proposal near Citi Field

Council Member Francisco Moya announced his support for Metropolitan Park, a proposal put forward by New York Mets owner Steve Cohen and Hard Rock International that calls for the construction of a casino and entertainment complex on the parking lot just west of Citi Field.

In a lengthy statement released on Thursday afternoon, Moya said that when he was first approached about the project, his main consideration was ensuring that it would meet the needs of his constituents and provide a major boost to the local economy.

Long Island man charged in fatal Flushing hit-and-run that left 81-year-old man dead: NYPD

A Long Island truck driver was arrested on Tuesday and booked at the 109th Precinct in Flushing for a fatal hit-and-run collision that killed a Murray Hill senior who was riding an electric bike on Northern Boulevard three months ago.

Kyle Schreiber, 27, of Lincoln Boulevard in Hauppauge, was charged with leaving the scene of an accident resulting in the death of 81-year-old Peter Seo on the morning of Thursday, Dec. 28.

MTA seizes 19 ‘ghost’ cars registered to toll violators at Queens Midtown Tunnel on Monday

Two days before the MTA Board approved the controversial congestion pricing plan for Manhattan on Wednesday, the agency cracked down on persistent toll violators at the Queens Midtown Tunnel in Long Island City.

MTA Bridges and Tunnels seized 19 vehicles registered to persistent scofflaws on Monday and issued 81 summonses and confiscated two fraudulent incense plates. The MTA noted that the scofflaws accounted for approximately $483,000 in combined unpaid tolls and fees. One of the top persistent toll violators from the targeted enforcement owed nearly $76,000 in tolls and fees.