Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday that there will be new testing sites added in East New York in Brooklyn and Morrisania in the Bronx.
BRIEFING NOTES:
- Mayor Bill de Blasio says that the people who needs ventilators has decreased daily, and is now down to 70 people needing ventilators per day. He says this number is down from 200 to 300 people needing ventilators per day.
- De Blasio says that the city has enough ventilators for the next week.
- He says the city is sufficient in N95 masks, surgical masks and gloves. De Blasio also says that face shields and surgical gowns must be resupplied for next week.
- The city has looking to expand testing and is discussing with the White House and FEMA. Currently, hospitalized patients, health care workers and first responders are being tested.
- De Blasio says new testing centers will be built in targeted communities like East New York, Brooklyn, Morrisania, the Bronx, Harlem, Manhattan, Jamaica, Queens and Clifton, Staten Island. He says these communities have the greatest need for testing.
- De Blasio says he will be asking the federal government for 110,000 individualized tests. He says 25,000 kits would be sent to hospitals, and that they are needed this week.
- The New York City Health Department recommends the general public wear a face covering in public.
- De Blasio says all essential city workers must wear face coverings when interacting with the public while on duty starting April 13. He says the city has given out 1.4 million face coverings, and will give out more as needed.
- He says Health + Hospitals is hiring 500 non-clinical staff for patient transport, cleric work and cleaning. De Blasio says that thousands of more job openings are expected.
- He says that Apple has given the children in New York City 300,000 iPads, and another 50,000 are expected to be handed out. De Blasio says T-Mobile has also helped students get access to fast internet.
PHOTOS: World copes with the spread of coronavirus
undefined