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Test & Trace Corps to Provide New Yorkers With Take Care Packages So They Can Safely Separate
Aug 07, 2020
NYC Health + Hospitals today announced as a part the Test & Trace Corps’ Take Care pillar that it will now provide ‘Take Care’ packages to New Yorkers who test positive and contacts of confirmed positive cases. The ‘Take Care’ packages will include a medical grade mask, sanitizing wipes, hand sanitizer, a pulse oximeter and thermometer. To help New Yorkers continue to learn while they stay home, Microsoft will include information for easy access to a range of free trainings and workshops on Microsoft.com. KIND Snacks has also donated thousands of bars as part of the Frontline Impact Project, to help New Yorkers take care of themselves during this time. The City has the capacity to deliver approximately 15,000 personal protective equipment (PPE) packages each month. New Yorkers who test positive and contacts can expect to receive packages as early as next week. The Test & Trace Corps’ Take Care pillar ensures all COVID-19 positive New Yorkers and their contacts can safely separate to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Thank you to Microsoft and KIND Snacks for their donations to these Take Care packages,” said COVID-19 Public-Private Partnership Czar Peter Hatch. “This support will help New Yorkers while they quarantine at home and help New York prevent the spread of the virus.”
“The primary role of the Take Care pillar is to allow COVID-positive New Yorkers and their contacts the ability to safely separate from their loved one and friends so as not to spread the disease,” said Take Care Lead Dr. Amanda Johnson. “Delivering these care packages directly to New Yorkers’ doorsteps is an opportunity for us help New Yorkers be safe and to keep their family safe.”
“Since the start of this pandemic, we’ve seen New Yorkers step up for each other in ways big and small. As we continue working to keep ourselves and our neighbors safe from COVID-19, staying home when necessary is crucial,” said Toya Williford, Executive Director of the Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City. “Thanks to the creative and thoughtful support of our partners, we’re helping ensure time spent self-isolating at home does not feel so isolated. These packages are a welcome reminder that New Yorkers are all in this together.”
“We are committed to helping people continue to learn and grow while they stay home safely,” said Olga Lymberis, Director, Microsoft Store. “We have evolved our workshops and trainings to digital offerings. From summer camps, to workshops for job seekers, to tips on how to build your network and get career ready, we are here to support people with free digital trainings taught live by experts.”
“Since April, Frontline Impact Project has supported 42 New York institutions on the frontlines of COVID-19. Thanks to KIND – one of our most active donors – we are pleased to extend our efforts to the Mayor’s Fund,” says Michael Johnston, Frontline Impact Project. “We are glad to help brighten the days of New Yorkers in quarantine.”
Resource Navigators
The Take Care Program partners with 15 community-based organizations across the city to offer resources to New Yorkers isolating at home. Resource Navigators help New Yorkers connect to resources while safely separating in their homes, such as food, medicine, health care and social services. Since June 1st, Resource Navigators have reached out to more than 8,400 New Yorkers with COVID-19. Over two hundred Resource Navigators in communities across the city are supporting and providing normalcy to those with COVID-19. Through this work, Resource Navigators have connected with eighty-eight percent of client referrals via phone.
To help all New Yorkers ‘safely separate’ at home and monitor their health status, the Take Care Program also offers free hotel rooms with wraparound services for New Yorkers who are unable to safely separate in their own homes. Contact tracers will check-in via daily calls and conduct in-person visits as necessary. These calls will allow the monitors to gauge the progress of patients, ensure proper compliance with separation protocol, and connect patients to more supportive services as necessary.