Medical facilities in the Bronx are bracing for a COVID-19 wave this winter, and Bronx residents are also taking extra precautions. 

“We know this thing is going to triple by New Year's and certainly through the holidays,” Dr. Sheldon Teperman from NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi tells News 12. 

NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi has stocked up on equipment and is incorporating new treatment data to catch patients earlier before they get sicker. 

Worried about winter, Registered Nurse Kelley Cabrera, says she’s had COVID-19 and is on the front line at the hospital. She says the numbers are not surprising. 

“I think it’s a lot of COVID fatigue. I get that, I understand, believe me, health care workers are tired too. We want to get with our families,” said Cabrera. 

Other hospitals are also gearing up for winter. St. Barnabas shared a training video with News 12 as experts learned about demistifier and CPAP helmet treatments as an intubation option. 

More people are getting tested, lining up at facilities across the borough. 

City and state officials are pushing for people to get tested, especially in the Bronx. The state Health Department designated parts of the Bronx as yellow zones because of increased positivity rates, telling News 12 in those areas, "We are working with New York City to increase testing and expand contact tracing while enforcing restrictions on local activities that can increase the spread. We have been anticipating an increase in cases in the colder months and recently announced a winter plan for the pandemic.” 

As a coronavirus vaccine makes its way to New York City, experts tell News 12 they are concerned that there won’t be enough vaccines available right away for all New Yorkers. 

For those looking to get tested, at least 11 health and hospitals sites are offering testing. There are also at least three mobile testing sites.