NYC To Produce Coronavirus Testing Kits, De Blasio Says

NEW YORK, NY — New York City will partner with local manufacturers to produce tens of thousands of coronavirus tests per week to enhance the city's testing capacity as it looks toward an eventual relaxation of social distancing measures, mayor Bill de Blasio announced Sunday.

The initiative, which will result in the manufacturing of 50,000 coronavirus cases per week, will allow New York City to expand its testing capacity independent of the federal and state governments, de Blasio said.

"There’s no challenge too big for New Yorkers – and I’m proud to see our medical and manufacturing community join forces to make our city a self-sufficient source of the tests we’ll need to get through this crisis," de Blasio said in a statement. "Rebuilding a fairer and better New York City starts with conducting a rigorous testing program in every borough, and they’ll help us ensure a safe and responsible recovery."

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De Blasio has long said that a massive testing will be key to New York City's ability to recover from the new coronavirus outbreak and eventually reopen, but many reopening strategies rely on testing capacity that New York City is not equipped to meet. In recent weeks, the city's Public Health Laboratory has established eight testing sites at public hospitals in hard-hit communities.

Manufacturing coronavirus testing kits requires the city to create three distinct testing components: Swabs, screw-on tops and a liquid that the swab is stored inside called a "transport medium." The city Economic Development Corporation is partnering with Manhattan-based 3D printing company Print Parts to manufacture the swabs and the Bronx's Albert Einstein College of Medicine to synthesize the transport mediums.

About 3D-printed 30,000 swabs are expected to be ready for use this week, de Blasio said Sunday. These swabs will be used with the purchased transport mediums while the mediums created by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine go through a validation process.

The test-manufacturing initiative took three weeks to come together through a joint effort of the city EDC, Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and NYC Health + Hospitals — the city's public hospital system — city officials said.

"Large-scale testing is absolutely critical for New York City’s reopening and recovery," James Patchett, president and CEO of the New York City Economic Development Corporation, said in a statement. "Local production of these test kits is another example of how the City has tapped into the creativity and innovation of NYC businesses and institutions to solve what seemed to be an insurmountable challenge."