Mayor-elect Eric Adams unveiled his plans to combat
COVID-19 in the five boroughs through the winter months.
Adams is hoping this new plan will help to save lives and keep the city open in the new year. He says he will be following the science and recommendations of health experts to update COVID rules and guidance as well as to expand testing and vaccination.
His plan includes keeping the private-sector employee mandate in place and weighing whether or not they will be mandating booster shots for New Yorkers. Adams says a color-coded system that shows the level of virus threat along with what level of safety measures will be put in place.
As for students, the city is setting a deadline for this spring on a decision if vaccines will be mandated for next school year.
"It's clear that we need to learn more with COVID so that we can recover and thrive as a city. We must allow our city to function. We must learn to be smarter, live with COVID, and ensure that we protect everyday New Yorkers," he says.
Adams' team is looking at some of the COVID mandates that are already in place to see if adjustments need to be made, meaning they can be removed or stay in place depending on the state of the pandemic.