Photo Courtesy of Sen. Schumer
“While I am grateful for these efforts and for the work of FEMA staffers, I ask that FEMA continue this partnership and build on its efforts as cases increase due to the Omicron variant,” Sen. Schumer wrote in a personal letter to the FEMA administrator.
By Michael V. Cusenza
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently announced that he has formally requested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency send 100 mobile testing facilities to the five boroughs.
“Since the beginning of the pandemic, FEMA has played a central role in New York City’s fight against COVID-19. While I am grateful for these efforts and for the work of FEMA staffers, I ask that FEMA continue this partnership and build on its efforts as cases increase due to the Omicron variant,” Schumer wrote in a personal letter to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “On December 21, 2021 New York City recorded its highest 7-day daily average of cases at nearly 9,500 cases. As reports of daily cases and hospitalizations continue to trend upward, it is vital that FEMA provide the City with the necessary resources to help slow this spread. With more testing capabilities in the form of at-home kits and testing sites, the City can better gauge the trends of this variant and provide more accurate guidance and information to residents.”
Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza
“With more testing capabilities in the form of at-home kits and testing sites, the City can better gauge the trends of this variant and provide more accurate guidance and information to residents,” the senator also said.
New York’s senior senator also asked Criswell that FEMA “swiftly provide New York City with increased at-home testing kits.”
“When I became Majority Leader, one of the biggest priorities was lifting New York out of this pandemic, and we are on that path. We have secured the funds, we have built the community infrastructure to educate and vaccinate, while also ensuring testing that is accurate and accessible remains in place across the city, Long Island and upstate—but now we need a ramp up on the testing side, and that is what I am calling for today with FEMA,” Schumer said. “Omicron should not mean panic. No variant should mean we panic. We plan and we activate the mechanisms, like testing, that we have the federal resources for and, now, the experience to fully carry out.”
