omicron

CityMD Closes Some NYC Locations at Worst Possible Time

A familiar sight these days. Photo: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg via Getty Images

CityMD, the walk-in urgent care clinic with dozens of locations around New York City, is temporarily closing several locations around the five boroughs as it struggles under the weight of staff shortages amid unrelentingly heavy demand.

The company announced on Tuesday that it will shutter 19 of its 150 locations, 12 percent of the total. These include 13 clinics in the city, one in Westchester, two on Long Island, and three in New Jersey.

In a tweet, CityMD said the move was made to “avoid future closures.”

Between general burnout, non-compliance with vaccine mandates, and workers contracting COVID, staffing problems have plagued hospitals and health-care centers across the country.

The timing of the CityMD closures could hardly be more unfortunate. As Omicron cases surge in the city — 1 in 105 residents tested positive last week — thousands of New Yorkers have been waiting in hours-long lines to determine their COVID status. This has put unsustainable pressure on a testing infrastructure that was working decently well when demand was lower, but which is not equipped for the current level of demand.

There is some good news on the NYC testing front, though: Mayor de Blasio said on Monday that 23 new city-run sites would open by the end of the week, bringing the total to 112. And the Feds are getting in on the action, too: FEMA is setting up multiple testing centers in the city before Christmas.

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CityMD Closes Some NYC Locations at Worst Possible Time