There’s a new kind of coronavirus testing being started in New York City. Mayor Bill de Blasio says patients will administer it themselves at city testing sites, increasing the number of coronavirus tests by 25 percent at city run sites. The new method will be less risky to healthcare workers who had been getting close to patients to take a nose swab.
“The patient takes something basically like a sterile Q-tip, puts that in their nose. They don’t have to go way deep. Just enough to get a sample. Forgive my bluntness, they spit into a cup.”
The two samples are then handed off to the lab.
“Protect our healthcare workers more, save time, allow a simpler process.”
The mayor says health care workers won’t have to burn through as many pieces of protective gear with the new testing method.
Meanwhile, Mayor de Blasio is announcing 40 miles of City streets will close to vehicular traffic.” This will allow New Yorkers a bit more space for social distancing. The mayor says the goal is to get to 100 miles with closures starting first on streets by parks.