Meng Leads Bicameral Letter Encouraging City Hall To Deploy COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits By Jan. 2

QUEENS, NY – U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) announced today that she led a bicameral letter with New York Members of Congress to City Hall encouraging them to distribute COVID-19 rapid test kits to public schools by January 2nd. The letter comes as nearly one million students and hundreds of thousands of educators are set to return to in-person classes on January 3rd.

"New York is seeing a rising tide in positive test results for COVID-19 due to the Omicron variant; as we enter the New Year, we must ensure everyone can get tested before school starts," said Meng. "I applaud New York City and New York State for working together to source approximately 3.5 million rapid test kits for schools, but they must be available for families and students by January 2^nd. If we are to help control the spread of COVID-19, we must test. I stand ready to assist."

On December 21, Meng led a letter to President Biden urging the administration to steer necessary COVID-19 testing kits to New York City.

On December 28, City Hall announced its 'Stay Safe and Stay Open' plan for schools.

A copy of the correspondence can be viewed here, and below.

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Dear Mayor de Blasio and Mayor-elect Adams,

We write to you both with profound concern as we face a rising tide of reported positive test results from COVID-19, due in part to the Omicron variant. On January 3^rd, nearly one million public school students and hundreds of thousands of teachers will return to in-person classes. While we applaud your leadership in developing the ‘Stay Safe and Stay Open' plan, we encourage you to move urgently to deploy rapid COVID-19 test kits to public schools by January 2nd. We do not have a moment to lose.

As you know, our nation is once again experiencing an unprecedented wave of COVID-19 infections. Our nation is posting new daily records that outpace last year's daily case rate; New York City's reported positive test rate has been the highest since the pandemic began. Unfortunately, we can expect more troubling data on test results, hospitalizations, and deaths as families return home from holiday travel.

While the Omicron variant and Delta variant continue to spread, we know that rigorous testing and following other public health measures can help keep people, including students, safe. We applaud your leadership and steadfast efforts to secure approximately 3.5 million rapid test kits – including one million from Governor Hochul – for distribution at public schools. These kits, however, must be available by January 2nd. Parents, students, and educators should be able to test themselves before the start of school on January 3rd to reduce the transmission of the virus.

We thank you for your leadership to keep New York City safe and encourage you to make rapid test kits available by January 2nd. If we are to help control the spread of COVID-19, we must test. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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