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Mayor-Elect Eric Adams To Outline COVID-19 Plan For New York City As Omicron Cases Spike

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NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — Thursday, Mayor-elect Eric Adams is expected to announce his plans to tackle COVID-19 in New York City as he prepares to take office this weekend.

Meantime, the MTA is expanding its state-funded testing operation by opening five more sites, bringing to total to seven, CBS2’s John Dias reported.

READ MORE: Major Flight Cancellations Continue As Omicron Outbreak Causes Staffing Shortage

This added relief comes at a critical time.

COVID cases are spreading faster nationwide – soaring to the highest levels on record. Cases continue to spike statewide and long lines persist at testing sites in the city.

FIND TESTING SITES: Click here for New York City’s testing site locator, including mobile sites and at-home appointments

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More than 67,000 cases were reported across the state Wednesday. Single-day cases spiked, but the state’s positivity rate fell to slightly more than 18%.

Nearly 22,000 cases were reported in the city, where the positivity rate is more than 12%.

AVOID THE LINES: Click here for NYC Health+Hospitals testing wait times

Cases nearly doubled in one day in New Jersey. More than 20,000 new cases were reported in the state after there were 12,000 the day before.

In New York, the city and state are opening new testing sites to deal with demand. But the state testing site in the Bronx still had a two-hour wait Wednesday.

READ MORE: Nassau County Distributing 20,000 At-Home COVID Test Kits At Mitchel Field In Uniondale

One woman told CBS2 she spent all afternoon in line for a test at a clinic in Co-Op City.

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“You have to provide people with the resources that they need to get tested,” said Leticia Grate.

Meantime, the FDA warned at-home, rapid antigen tests might be less effective at detecting the Omicron variant. The agency said the tests are still worthwhile.

“Don’t let anybody think that the FDA was saying that tests are no longer good. They say they’re less sensitive now,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

The CDC defended its updated guidelines, specifically saying a negative COVID test is not required to come out of the shortened five-day isolation period.

“With a negative antigen test, we’d still ask you to wear a mask. With a positive antigen test, we’d still say you can wear a mask and, since it wasn’t going to make a difference in our recommendations, we did not recommend an antigen at that period of time,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

CityMD is temporarily closing another 20 locations in the city to preserve its ability to staff the remaining sites, according to officials.

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More people will have to rely on testing facilities run by the city and state.

Source: CBS

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