By Bob Tannenhauser
As part of his new Stay Healthy to Stay Open plan, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine will be distributing COVID safety bags across Manhattan today, as the borough breached the “Yellow” Covid Alert level. The safety bags contain home testing kits, high-quality masks, thermometers, hand sanitizers, and a list of community resources.
The positivity rates on the Upper West Side over the past seven days were: 5.6% for zip code 10025; 5.31% for 10024; and 4.64% for 10023, according to data released by the NYC Department of Health. The rates in some lower Manhattan neighborhoods have exceeded 8% and, outside the borough, it is 12.56% in Long Island City.
Borough President Levine will be hosting a Q&A session with HHS Regional Director Dr. Dara Kass, MD at 5:00 PM today to discuss preparing for a new wave of Covid. Members of the public can register for the meeting and submit questions. Here is the link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_8Zr8mIvyTPG9yaOO1eWRCw
where is Mark Levine distributing covid bags
I do not see any in my area 10025
Me neither 10023.
I’d love to know where & how.
Ok, I forget….. what is the definition of a positivity rate? Ie, is it rate or positive tests from whatever number gets tested? Something else? I can’t remember….. and these definitions are CRUCIAL for us to know, and should be included in any reporting.
Test positivity rate is the percentage of positive Covid tests among all those tested in that zip code or neighborhood. Every data point on the city health department weekly map is also accompanied by raw numbers- I.e. how many people in that place tested the previous week, and of those, how many were positive- and also a simple answer to the question, is the number tested an adequate sample of people per 100,000 of the population to make this surveillance data valid? For nearly every part of the city, the answer is “yes”. So it does not matter if 500 people got tests in Flatbush and 5,000 Mott Haven: if the sample is representative (quantitatively) then you can compare a 2% positivity rate in one place (nice and low) to an 8% rate in another (get your higher quality mask out if you haven’t!). These numbers aren’t perfect – people who choose to test in places with a public record are a self selected group, not scientifically random. But they may roughly reflect who is out and about, or who you might be in a shop or on a bus or at a museum with.
Right now, the wealthier and better vaccinated areas of the city have higher test positivity rates. These, after regulations have relaxed, are where people are visiting, mingling, reacting in restaurants, sitting together in theaters. The new variant is extremely contagious. If you don’t want to bring a case – however mild – home to your unvaccinated child or vulnerable loved one, take good care in those areas. The good news is that the poorer and less economically resilient areas for now are seeing less new disease. But this is a city where we all mingle and travel a lot. Hang in there, New Yorkers…and stay safe, and considerate of those around you.
Did he not get the memo on hand transfer of covid?
I don’t see the distribution locations. Where can I see those?
Now that home tests are available and quite a few people are using them, I suspect the COVID-19 positivity rates are higher than it’s possible to know. Only laboratory tests are counted. Even if someone wanted to report a home positive test result, the NYC Dept of Health tracking system has no way for a home user to submit a report of a positive test result…
why don’t you do a community service and show where we seniors can get the 2nd booster?
You can go to the CVS website and schedule an appointment. I had to go to 1rst Avenue and 81rst because of my scheduling needs, but there are probably appointments available at UW@ locations as well.
It might make sense to do an article on how easy (or difficult) it is to get in a timely manner the free anti-viral medicines that the mayor has promised and is now taking after contracting COVID.