#NYC preparing hotel contracts for potential ‘Wave 2’ of coronavirus

New York City officials are already preparing emergency contracts to combat a potential “Wave 2” coronavirus outbreak — a sobering sign that the killer virus could haunt Big Apple residents for some time.

The city Office of Emergency Management has put out a contract proposal for an operator to run the “COVID-19 Hotels Program” in case there is a flare-up of the killer pandemic that crippled the city for months.

“As part of this program, New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) is seeking a quick, flexible, and responsible vendor for a potential Wave 2 outbreak that is able to scale up or down quickly in response to community needs,” the agency’s request for bids said.

The city has already spent $92 million to provide healthcare workers and vulnerable residents –especially homeless individuals — a safe place to isolate to help curb the spread of the disease, according to NYCEM. One if its contracts is with the Hotel Association of The City of New York.

Emergency Management is authorized to spend up to $250 million for COVID-19 lodging and related services and is currently in negotiations with federal officials to seek full reimbursement of the costs.

The city could spend as much as $100 million on hotel lodging to confront a second wave of COVID-19, according to the emergency management agency.

The contractor would be responsible to manage intake of health-risk New Yorkers to fill up to 20,000 hotel rooms per night and provide 24/7 customer service by phone and email.

It’s better to be safe than sorry, an NYCEM spokesman said.

“New Yorkers have worked tirelessly to fight through the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and with social distancing, wearing face coverings, and expansive testing and tracing, we have made significant progress together to flatten the curve,” said NYCEM’s Omar Bourne.

“As we continue to move forward, we remain vigilant and must not become complacent. We are therefore working aggressively to make sure we continue to have the resources available to provide safe spaces for any New Yorker who may need to safely separate from loved ones during a potential second wave.”

To date, the city has sent thousands of homeless individuals, health care workers and recovering COVID-19 patients to 140 of the city’s 700 hotels, which were largely vacant due to the pandemic and are considered safer alternatives to practice social distancing and infection control than cramped homeless shelters.

The Big Apple was the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States during a brutal spring, when hospital emergency rooms and intensive care units were overwhelmed, trailers and make-shift morgues were stationed outside facilities to transport dead patients, and the killer bug spread through nursing homes with frail, vulnerable residents like wildfire.

The city Health Department on Wednesday reported 23,336 confirmed or probable deaths linked to COVID-19.

The worst is over. The city’s current infection rate — residents who tested positive for the virus on Monday — was 1.3 percent.

But both the mayor and Gov. Andrew Cuomo are looking warily at the explosion of COVID-19 cases in many southern, western and heartland states and worry that visitors from those hotspots will come to New York and re-ignite a second wave of the disease.

Cuomo has imposed a travel advisory that requires visitors from 22 states to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival or face $2,000 fines. But the governor acknowledged it’s difficult to track and trace out-of-state visitors who drive into New York.

Fearing a flare-up, the resumption of indoor dining at city restaurants has been postponed and now the mayor and governor are having discussions about delaying the city from entering Phase Four to open cultural facilities such as museums and zoos.

Reports have also noted an increase in COVID-19 infections among young adults congregating at bars and eateries offering outdoor dining without wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

“New Yorkers brought the curve down by making big changes, and we see that work reflected in the numbers every day,” Cuomo said Wednesday.

“But we must continue to be smart by wearing a mask, social distancing and washing our hands, we all have a role to play in protecting the progress we’ve made and leading the rest of the nation by example. We cannot go back to the hell we experienced three months ago, so please stay vigilant and New York Tough.”