Mayor: We know we have to focus very, very locally. When we see any kind of trend that's unusual, that's when you throw in more focus, more resources. Right now, we're looking at Sunset Park in Brooklyn. Right now, we're seeing an uptick, over a very limited period of time, a very limited number of cases. We now have a warning light, a sign there's something going on that we want to know more about. And the way we do that is by literally knocking on doors, talking to local organizations and leaders with a simple message: everyone needs to get tested.
This is a neighborhood of about 38,000 households, it's an area we can literally saturate. That's what we're going to do, starting today. You will see door knocking, phone calls, lots of activity through local organizations. Here to tell you about it and to explain why this strategy is so crucial to keeping our low infection levels low is our health commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi.
Commissioner Dave Chokshi, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene: The first neighborhood targeted was the Tremont section of the Bronx, now followed by Sunset Park. We've launched popup testing sites and community days of action. In two weeks, in Sunset Park, we have tested over 3,300 New Yorkers. Thus far, we have identified 228 positive cases.
We'll bring two mobile testing vans, each of which can do 80 to 100 tests per day based at, first, 44th and 6th Avenue from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Wednesday through Friday of this week and all of next week, too; and second, the Brooklyn Herald Gospel Center at 809 44th Street off of 8th Avenue for Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. And starting Monday, we will extend our rapid point of care testing at this neighborhood at the Brooklyn Army Terminal. We'll look for additional brick and mortar options for testing sites and partner with local health care providers to maximize resources, that includes local urgent care clinics. AdvantageCare Physicians is one provider in the ZIP code that will be more actively testing in the area by appointment. And we'll be stepping up our outreach, we'll carry out robocalls in the 11220 ZIP code, flyer, door knock, and canvas the area. Catching those sparks before they ignite will help us to prevent a resurgence.
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