coronavirus new york city

Coronavirus News: Pilot program brings testing, health care comes to NYCHA

ByEyewitness News WABC logo

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

Coronavirus testing, health care comes to NYCHA

Governor Cuomo announced Monday the state will begin testing and distribute a half million masks in NYCHA buildings citywide starting with a pilot program of eight complexes

EAST HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- The George Washington Houses is one of eight NYCHA complexes that are now getting testing, hand sanitizer, and masks.

Governor Cuomo announced Monday the state will distribute a half million masks in NYCHA buildings citywide starting with a pilot program of eight complexes.

NY Gov. Cuomo said the state and NYC will set-up on-site health services for NYCHA residents

They're also handing out ten thousand gallons of hand sanitizer and they're working with an outside company to administer coronavirus tests in buildings where social distancing is very hard to do.

New York's first case was reported 52 days ago.

So the obvious question is what took so long?

"You need the test kits, all the components of the test kits. You need enough personnel and enough PPEs for the folks who administer a test. You need enough lab capacity. That just doesn't exist. Those pieces are not coming together on the private market. There's no way to do it yet to the scale we need," Mayor de Blasio said.

President Trump says there are enough tests available, but mayors and governors nationwide, both democrat and republican, keep saying that's not true.