Wednesday 29 December 2021

NYC's schools WILL reopen with increased testing to limit classroom closures: CityMD closes 31 clinics because of staff shortages caused by Omicron

 New York City schools will return from the Christmas break on time and with increased testing to limit classroom closures, outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday.

The announcement came as CityMD said it will close 31 clinics citywide due to staff shortages caused by the Omicron variant, according to the health care company.

De Blasio said that the nation’s largest school system, with 1.1 million students, will be abolishing its current policy of quarantining entire classrooms exposed to COVID.

The plan involves an increased testing program to allow students who test negative for the coronavirus and do not exhibit any symptoms to remain in school, according to a New York Times report.

 The policy - deemed 'Stay Safe and Stay Open' by Mayor de Blasio - was announced on Tuesday and is set to take effect on January 3, when nearly one million public school students return from holiday break. 

On Tuesday alone, over 27,000 new COVID cases were reported in the Big Apple, while over 2,300 people were hospitalized with coronavirus, according to the state's most recent count.  

CityMD, pictured, closes 31 clinics citywide due to staff shortages caused by Omicron, the health care company said Tuesday

CityMD, pictured, closes 31 clinics citywide due to staff shortages caused by Omicron, the health care company said Tuesday

CityMD is temporarily closing clinics in New York and New Jersey amid a sharp rise in Covid-19. This location is at Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey on December 22

CityMD is temporarily closing clinics in New York and New Jersey amid a sharp rise in Covid-19. This location is at Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey on December 22

Lines for COVID testing stretch around the block in The Bronx
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 Those looking to get tested for the virus will have fewer options. Of the 31 shuttered CityMD clinics, 20 are in the five boroughs, and the company said it will reveal more closures Wednesday.   

'As so many of you are aware, most CityMD locations are operating at full capacity, doing our best to meet the urgent care needs of the people of New York and New Jersey.'

'Continuing to provide these services to the community is a top priority,' the statement said.   

'However, our physicians and teammates are also a priority.'

The company added that the closures were necessary 'to preserve our ability to staff our sites,' as CityMD and other COVID-19 testing sites routinely overwhelmed with demand while the Omicron variant continues its way citywide at unprecedented speeds.  

'This isn't good,' resident Kevin Sims, 45, said after showing up at a Jersey City clinic Tuesday for a COVID test only to find the doors locked.

'I can see flights being canceled, Broadway shows being canceled,' he said. 

'But urgent care? Kind of scary in a doomsday sort of way. I get it. They're short staff and doing the best they can, but still scary.' 

A worker at CityMD’s Boerum Hills, Brooklyn location on Tuesday said employees hadn't been told how long the shutdown will last, with the site is set to close on Wednesday. 

Long line is seen at a Covid-19 testing center next to the Queens Hospital Center as hundreds of residents to get Covid-19 test in Queens December 28 as Omicron rises around the country
CityMD is temporarily closing clinics in New York and New Jersey amid a sharp rise in Covid-19. This location is at Journal Square in Jersey City, New Jersey

Long line is seen at a Covid-19 testing center next to the Queens Hospital Center, pictured left, and a temporarily closed CityMD clinic in Journal Square Jersey City, New Jersey, right

As the numbers of COVID-19 cases rise in New York City amid Omicron variant, many New Yorkers rush to COVID-19 testing sites spread around the city during the Christmas holidays

As the numbers of COVID-19 cases rise in New York City amid Omicron variant, many New Yorkers rush to COVID-19 testing sites spread around the city during the Christmas holidays

'It's been lines going all the way around the corner even before I get here in the morning,' the worker said.

'It's a crazy time. Everything is weird. If you’re looking for urgent care in this neighborhood you might just have to walk a little bit further,' he added.

'Even if you show up here at noon, there’s a good chance that they are already filled up for the rest of the day.'

Pictured: teachers protest with signs calling for increased COVID-19 testing, outside PS 64 Earth School Tuesday, December 21 in New York

Pictured: teachers protest with signs calling for increased COVID-19 testing, outside PS 64 Earth School Tuesday, December 21 in New York

Caitlin Kenny, left, a teacher at P.S. 124 gives a lesson on a day when for the second time this month, pop-up sites have been stationed to offer students age 5-11 the COVID-19 vaccine

Caitlin Kenny, left, a teacher at P.S. 124 gives a lesson on a day when for the second time this month, pop-up sites have been stationed to offer students age 5-11 the COVID-19 vaccine

Students wearing masks board a school bus outside New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math school on the Lower East Side neighborhood on Tuesday, December 21

Students wearing masks board a school bus outside New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math school on the Lower East Side neighborhood on Tuesday, December 21

De Blasio, Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor-elect Eric Adams, who takes office on Saturday, appeared together at a news conference  Tuesday in a united front against school closures in the face of a massive surge in cases driven by the Omicron variant.

The potent strain has only worsened daily cases rates citywide in the days since schools closed for winter break last week.  

'Your children are safer in school, the numbers speak for themselves,' Mr. Adams said Tuesday.

The city has experienced massive surges in COVID cases since the onset of Omicron.

On Christmas Day Saturday, 19 percent of the city's 4,000 workers were out sick as Omicron spreads with those still at work called out to help unvaccinated COVID patients.

New York is seeing a surge in new COVID cases as a result of the Omicron variant, with 44,431 new cases and a 12.4 percent positivity rate on Thursday.

In New York City, there had been 12,900 new diagnoses across the five boroughs on Friday with 259 hospitalizations.

EMS workers, pictured, are seen here taking patients into the Wakefield Campus of the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx in April 2020

EMS workers, pictured, are seen here taking patients into the Wakefield Campus of the Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx in April 2020

Throughout New York City, cases have surged in recent weeks, with 12,900 new diagnoses across the fie boroughs on Friday

Throughout New York City, cases have surged in recent weeks, with 12,900 new diagnoses across the fie boroughs on Friday

New York State shattered its COVID case record for the third day running on December 23 - recording 44,431 new cases, with a 12.4 percent positivity rate

New York State shattered its COVID case record for the third day running on December 23 - recording 44,431 new cases, with a 12.4 percent positivity rate

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