Levine Discusses New “Contact Tracers”
New York City is currently hiring 1,000 people to assist in tracing the spread of the coronavirus by the end of May, Business Insider reported Saturday.
These “contact tracers” will commit themselves to finding every case of coronavirus in the city through testing and tracking efforts.
“We can’t reopen safely unless we have a comprehensive system of contact tracing in place,” said City Council Health Committee Chair Mark Levine (D-Morningside Heights, Hamilton Heights). “Because otherwise you can’t really have confidence that people you see around you in public aren’t contagious.”
Seawright Back on Ballot
A justice on the state Supreme Court has said that Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright (D-Upper East Side, Roosevelt Island) should not be disqualified from representing the Democratic and Working Families Parties Friday, the New York Post reported.
The ruling comes after Seawright failed to properly submit election paperwork amid a case of a coronavirus-like illness. “I will continue to fight on behalf of all of my constituents on the Upper East Side, Yorkville, and Roosevelt Island,” she said. “It is time to end shameful pandemic politics,”
Her main challenger, doorman Lou Puliafito (R) has joined the Manhattan Republican Party to appeal the decision.
Hoylman Promotes “Make a Mask” Contest
State Sen. Brad Hoylman (D-Chelsea, Midtown, West Village) announced that his office would sponsor a “Make a Mask” competition last week, Patch reported Tuesday.
Under the contest’s rules, “kids and kids at heart” may submit photos of their most creative, fashionable, and CDC-compliant facemasks to his office or post them on social media with the hashtag #MakeAMaskNYC. Awards will be announced later in May.
“New Yorkers have lived through decades of trends—but staying safe will never go out of style,” said Hoylman. “This will be a great chance to show off the fun and creative spirit that makes New York the greatest city in the world, and it will help keep us all protected from this dangerous virus.”
