New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the arrival of 1.5 million more tests to be distributed to schools outside of New York City in the upcoming week.
"While the hospitalizations remain steady, which means we can handle the capacity, which has been our number one priority, make sure there's enough capacity. We're looking at the balance of people who are in the hospital for COVID versus non COVID reasons.
"And the number of people in the hospitals for COVID is still high. In fact, more than double what it had been just before the holidays. That's what we're looking at. So we still have hospitalizations increasing, but I always ask this question. This has troubled me. What do those numbers actually mean?
I'm very inquisitive, and I have a sharp team that answers my questions. Who is being admitted for COVID purposes? That they're sick enough to have to be hospitalized for COVID, it's that severe.
"Versus people who present themselves to a hospital and are automatically tested, as a matter of routine now, which is good. They're tested positive for COVID, but they're in there for other reasons. Think of all the other reasons people end up at a hospital, you know, it's an overdose, it's a car accident, a heart attack.
"Now that is our statewide average, but it's important to also look at the variations in our different parts of the state.
"The most number of people admitted for non-COVID reasons as of just yesterday or a couple of days ago are in New York City. It's about 50/50, 50/50. So, half of the hospitalizations in New York City are someone who needs to be there because of the severity of their COVID situation and the other half are there for other reasons.
"But let's find more sites. We have test kits. They're going to specific places, but where else can we add more testing? We already have existing sites at the MTA: Times Square, Grand Central, Penn Station, Broadway Junction in Brooklyn, East 188th in the Bronx, Roosevelt Avenue, Jamaica, but also let's add a few more, 125th Street in Manhattan, Bedford Park, Coney Island, and Queens Plaza."
Walk-in PCR testing will be offered at:
Starting Tuesday, January 11
Manhattan: 125th Street Station (A/B/C/D lines) Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The Bronx: Bedford Park Station (B/D lines) Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Starting Wednesday, January 12
Queens: Queens Plaza Station (E/M/R lines) Monday through Friday, 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Brooklyn: Coney Island / Stillwell Station (D/F/N/Q lines) Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. ■
An upper level high pressure system is expected to continue aiding well above average and potentially dangerous temperatures throughout the West into the first full weekend of September.