Honoring the NYC Test & Treat Corps

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About the NYC Test & Treat Corps

The NYC Test & Treat Corps, formerly the NYC Test & Trace Corps, was the City’s comprehensive effort to connect all New Yorkers with the critical tools for COVID-19 testing, treatment, vaccination and guidance. In its three years of dedicated service responding to the COVID-19 emergency the Corps provided New Yorkers convenient, widespread access to free testing and vaccination, rapid connections to treatment, and resources for Long COVID.

The Corps led the largest municipal testing and contact tracing program in the country, creating lasting innovations in how New Yorkers can access healthcare and becoming a leader in what localities can do to identify and break chains of transmission. The effort met New Yorkers where they are with the support they needed to combat the virus, saving tens of thousands of lives and preventing thousands of serious infections. The response prioritized neighborhoods in New York City most impacted by the earliest wave of COVID-19.

As new tools to fight COVID-19 became available, the Corps evolved to ensure New Yorkers could readily access them. The Corps created a comprehensive COVID-19 hotline for New Yorkers to access health information, emergency telehealth, hoteling resources, take care packages, treatment and be connected to services for Long COVID. The Corps operated an extensive mobile vaccination effort that partnered with schools, CBOs, and houses of worship to bring life-saving vaccines to all New York City communities. Finally, the Corps also launched the nation’s first mobile Test and Treat program, building a city-wide, community-driven network of hundreds of walk-up sites for New Yorkers to pick up at-home tests.

Learn more about the history and evolution of the NYC Test & Treat Corps.

In May 2023, the Corps transitioned emergency-level operations to NYC Health + Hospitals’ facilities and community-based outpatient care centers, ensuring New Yorkers can continue to access COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccination through the city’s public health system.

For more information, please visit NYC Health + Hospitals’ COVID-19 Services.

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Timeline of the NYC Test & Treat Corps

January 31, 2020

The Federal Government determines COVID-19 is a nationwide Public Health Emergency

March 1, 2020

The first case of COVID-19 is confirmed in New York State

March 16, 2020

New York City shuts down in person attendance of public schools

May 6, 2020

Mayor de Blasio announces the creation of the NYC Test & Trace Corps, the City’s comprehensive plan to test, trace and provide resources for every case of COVID-19.

June 1, 2020

Test & Trace launches its Take Care initiative to help New Yorkers with COVID-19 safely separate and isolate in hotels and support New Yorkers in isolation or quarantine with care packages, meal delivery and financial assistance at no cost

June 6, 2020

The Corps launches its first mobile testing units with PCR testing, prioritizing access and equity for New Yorkers in the city’s most impacted neighborhoods

September 15, 2020

New York City launches its COVID-19 Hotline, 212-COVID19, providing New Yorkers an immediate connection to resources to help them isolate or quarantine

September 17, 2020

NYC launches the Pandemic Response Lab dedicated to processing COVID-19 PCR tests from city testing sites within 24 to 48 hours

October, 2020

Test & Trace begins the nation’s first surveillance testing program in public schools, performing thousands of tests at hundreds of school locations to identify, isolate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 in city schools

November 24, 2020

NYC Health + Hospitals opens the first of three COVID-19 Centers of Excellence at Tremont, community health clinics dedicated to supporting New Yorker’s recovery from COVID-19 in the city’s most impacted neighborhoods

December 29, 2020

The Test & Trace Corps launches its first mobile testing units with rapid COVID-19 testing, providing New Yorkers results in 15 minutes

January 10, 2021

NYC launches the first City-run mass vaccination sites at Brooklyn Army Terminal & Bathgate Contract Postal Station, providing vaccinations 24/7 for New Yorkers

February 10, 2021

The Test & Trace Corps opens mass vaccination sites at Citi Field open for walk-up vaccinations for New Yorkers age 75+

March 29, 2021

Test & Trace launches its first van-based mobile vaccination clinics, prioritizing access for New York’s most impacted communities

April 7, 2021

Test & Trace launches the AfterCare program, a team of health outreach specialists contacting former cases of COVID-19 at risk of Long COVID to connect them to health and social needs resources that support their recovery

April 23, 2021

Contact tracers begin offering eligible New Yorkers with COVID-19 connections to monoclonal antibody treatment, greatly reducing the risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19

June & August, 2021

Test & Trace launches at-home testing and vaccinations for COVID-19, bringing life-saving services to the comforts of New Yorkers’ homes

November 17, 2021

Test & Trace doubles the size of its mobile testing fleet, expanding to nearly 75 units providing convenient testing and improving testing equity for New York’s most impacted communities

December, 2021

Test & Trace launches At-home Test Distribution Program, providing 500,000 rapid self-test kits and 1 million KN95 masks to 150 community-based organizations across NYC during its initial launch

January 5, 2022

Test & Trace doubles the number of City-run testing sites, operating over 200 testing sites throughout NYC in response to the unprecedented surge of omicron cases and testing demand

April 30, 2022

The Test & Trace Corps ends its contact tracing program, which reached a total of 1.7 million New Yorkers with COVID-19 and identified 1.8 million of their close contacts, ultimately engaging with more than 30% of the city’s population

June 30, 2022

NYC launches the nation’s first mobile Test to Treat program, providing New Yorkers access to Paxlovid anti-viral medication minutes after a positive test

August 1, 2022

The NYC Test & Trace Corps becomes the NYC Test & Treat Corps, reflecting program’s priority to directly connect New Yorkers who test positive to life-saving COVID-19 treatments

October 5, 2022

The mobile Test to Treat program begins its expansion, more than doubling to provide 75 mobile units prescribing treatment on site

February 3, 2023

AfterCare navigators reach over 500,000 New Yorkers recovering from COVID-19 and refer more than 57,000 people, including many experiencing symptoms of Long COVID, to critical health, social and financial support services

May 11, 2023

The Federal COVID-19 Public Health Emergency concludes, as the Test & Treat Corps transitions COVID-19 testing, treatment, vaccination and Long COVID services to NYC Health + Hospitals

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COVID-19 tests administered

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At-home tests disctributed

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COVID-19 vaccines administered

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Cases reached and offered support

1.8M

Contacts identified and offered support

33K

New Yorkers supported in isolation hotels

10M

In-person community conversations

About the NYC Test & Treat Corps

Timeline of the NYC Test & Treat Corps

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1.8M

33K

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The NYC Test & Treat Corps in Action

More NYC Test & Treat Corps Videos

Highlights of the NYC Test & Treat Corps

Hear From Frontline Healthcare Heroes

In the News

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