New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled details on a new initiative called "test and trace," the steps and measures he says would get the city to a low-level transmission phase.
"This is how we ultimately defeat this disease," de Blasio said this morning.
The mayor gave what he called broad strokes to the approach to the plan, which is based on widespread testing for the disease. If a patient is found to be Covid-19 positive, determining who they have been in contact with and testing those people.
"Plenty of sites and plenty of tests," de Blasio said.
The goal is to make testing available in every community, provide immediate assessment isolation and support, rapidly trace contacts and have more testing available in May.
People who test positive will be immediately assessed, isolated, monitored and supported at home or in a hotel or hospital, the mayor said.
De Blasio said he would like to identify widespread collection sites to minimize the burden on hospitals and the health care system. The city will also conduct interviews with positive patients to determine who they have been in close contact with.
"If you were in close contact with your cousin, then we want to talk to your cousin," he said. "It’s going to take thousands and thousands of people to do this right and we’re putting those people together now."