200K Rapid Coronavirus Tests Sent To 'Yellow Zone' Schools: Cuomo

BROOKLYN, NY — Rapid coronavirus tests will ramp up in schools in coronavirus "yellow zones" in Brooklyn and Queens as officials move closer to lifting, or intensifying, local lockdowns.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Thursday that he will send 200,000 rapid test kits to New York City schools that find themselves in the yellow "buffer zones" around coronavirus clusters.

The schools neighbor "red zone" areas where businesses and schools have been closed since Oct. 8 as the city and state deal with local surges in coronavirus cases.

The yellow zone tests will help monitor the spread of the virus, Cuomo said.

"I've asked local governments to do testing in the schools surrounding the Red Zones, in what we call Yellow Zones. Some of the local governments have said they don't have enough tests to do it," Cuomo said. "I've said if you need something, tell me and I'll provide it."

The increased testing comes as Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio move toward deciding whether COVID-19 surges have leveled off to the point where local restrictions can be lifted next week.

Red, orange and yellow zones with varying degrees of restrictions started Oct. 8 for a minimum of 14 days, meaning the earliest schools and non-essential businesses, depending on the zone, can reopen is Oct. 22.

De Blasio said he plans to decide by Sunday, though Cuomo insisted the decision will rest with the state.

The mayor has repeatedly said that public schools do not seem to be a driver of the coronavirus spread in the Brooklyn and Queens hotspots.

Private and charter schools, however, have accounted for half of New York City's 600 coronavirus cases since schools have reopened, despite representing just a third of the student population.

In Brooklyn, there were at least 16 active coronavirus cases and one closed school at public schools in the red, orange and yellow zones, according to the Department of Education map. Those cases include

"Red zone" areas across New York state had an overall positivity rate of 4.84 percent on Thursday, down from 6.29 percent the day before, according to Cuomo.