Covid-19: Mayor de Blasio urges protection among New Yorkers

By Moses Kuwema

New York City mayor Bill de Blasio has urged people to protect themselves against Covid-19 as they get through the winter.

While disclosing this on Tuesday December 8, 2020, Mayor stated that the next few months are the last big battle in the war against Covid-19 .

Mayor de Blasio said this in view of the vaccine shipments that are expected to start arriving next week and urged New Yorkers to ensure they get tested for COVID-19.

During a press briefing at City Hall, Mayor de Blasio observed that New York will see some restrictions in the coming days.

He noted that the New York State governor Andrew Cuomo’s announcement of new orders on Monday for the State’s hospitals and hospitalization rates would determine indoor dining reductions.

Cuomo said that a region will be declared a red zone in the event of critical hospital capacity which he put at 90 percent.

He stated that NY pause order would go into effect in that region if they are projected to hit 90 percent capacity within three weeks.

For New York City which has a 25 percent indoor capacity, that would mean shuttering of indoor dining.

The rest of the State would have their indoor capacity reduced from 50 percent to 25 percent.

Mayor de Blasio gave an outlook of the COVID-19 indicators in which 161 new hospitalizations were recorded, 2,624 new cases were also recorderepresenting a 4.94 percent positivity rate in the seven-day average.

“Wear a mask. Keep six feet apart. If you’re a senior citizen or have pre-existing medical conditions, stay home as much as possible,” emphasized mayor de Blasio.

Mayor de Blasio also announced that Test and Trace teams will be canvassing in Manhattan this week, focusing on areas around Washington Heights, Harlem, East Harlem, Chinatown and the lower East Side.

Test and Trace Corps director Ted Long mentioned that the city is expanding their rapid testing capabilities and adding sites, including one at LaGuardia Airport opening this Thursday. Visit here for a list of walk-in testing sites from NYC health and Hospitals across the five boroughs..