Goodbye, federal COVID emergency: What its end means for NYC

New York City was the COVID-19 pandemic's first major epicenter in the U.S. The city confirmed its first case on March 1, 2020, sparking a path to tens of thousands of lives lost, lengthy lockdowns and a societal recovery that remains ongoing.

More than 1,100 days later, the federal government ended the public health emergency tied to COVID-19 on Thursday. It marks the close of a long wind-down for many services related to the pandemic.

Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine joined WNYC's "Morning Edition" host Michael Hill to talk through what protections and programs remain — and which ones have come to an end.

An extended version of their conversation is published below. It was lightly edited for clarity.

Michael Hill: Just on the top line, how noticeable do we expect the end of this emergency to be for New Yorkers?

Mark Levine: Some of the most important and successful programs we've had in place have been funded by FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] through the emergency order.

If you've picked up free COVID tests at community centers around the city, there's going to be no more replenishment of that supply. If you got Paxlovid to treat, when you've tested positive at a mobile site around the city, that program ended this week.

There are other ways it's going to impact us, including access to vaccination and more. We're going to have to find ways to fill those gaps.

New York spent the weeks and months leading up to the emergencies and winding down some of its COVID-related operations, especially about health.

One big example is that the test to treat vans spotted around the city have already shuttered well. What will getting COVID testing and treatment look like now that the emergency has ended?

On the testing front, the community locations still have supply. While they're not going to be replenished, they could keep going for a while.

You can check out a location in your neighborhood by just going to nyc.gov.

People are going to have to eventually transition back to visiting brick and mortar locations – clinics, the public hospitals, to get tested, or purchase tests at pharmacies, which not everyone has money for.

As for Paxlovid, there's one great piece of news, which is that you can still call to have doses delivered after you catch COVID-19. If you've tested positive on a home test, you can get screened by a clinician, and they can get Paxlovid to your house same day free delivery and have it filled at a local pharmacy.

[NYC Health + Hospitals states that New Yorkers who test positive for COVID-19 can access Paxlovid prescriptions and home delivery at no cost through Virtual ExpressCare by calling 212-COVID-19 (212-268-4319).]

This is an incredible service. It is going to continue even with the emergency order expiring. It’s probably the most important service that people should know is still going to be in place.

If people seek testing outside of city services, will they be charged?

Certainly, if you're going to a private provider, yes.

You might remember earlier in the pandemic, that even if you had no insurance and you were at a private provider, there was no charge because the federal government was reimbursing for all of that. That stopped, and it's why you see a lot fewer COVID test tents out on the street.

If you do visit a private health care provider, you should be prepared that you might have to pay out of pocket if you don't have insurance. The city services, however, are still going to be at no cost, regardless of insurance.

If you call 212-COVID-19, as I just described, if you don't have insurance, there's still no fee for delivering that important medication to your home. But you're going to have to work a little bit harder. You might have to go to a public clinic.

There's one more opportunity – just probably for the next few days – to get free test kits from the federal government. The Postal Service will mail every household for free kits. And it's probably going to end soon, but it's still in place this week.

You can just go to COVID test.gov. Even if you got a package of tests sent to your home in the past year or two, it's OK. As long as you haven't had a delivery since December, you can get another four tests.

Let's pivot to vaccines. How do things now look different locally when it comes to securing a shot? Do people now need to pay for any of those doses?

What any city clinic or hospital is continuing to provide vaccination at no cost. If you have no insurance, you will still be free of payment. Thank goodness. I think the situation might vary at private clinics. So you want to be careful about checking that if you're uninsured and go into a private clinic. But all the public hospitals are still offering vaccination. It's not as easy though, Michael, there were tents set up in the lobbies of places like Bellevue Hospital. Again, those were funded by FEMA during the emergency period. And those have gone away now or will be going away this week. So you'll have to work a little bit harder to find where to get the vaccine, but when in doubt, if you don't have insurance, you can always go to a public hospital. Thank goodness we have this network. And it's important that people know about it.

Do you think vaccine requirements in any will change in any respect, no longer required for foreign travelers, federal workers, those types of things?

Well, a few mandates are now being lifted, and it's hard to see any change in that significantly in either direction. For now, we're out of the crisis phase of COVID. Thank goodness.

But people should still be aware COVID is still out there. We get a few 100 recorded cases a day. It's why you still want to have test kits on hand, and you want to get treatment if you test positive.

We want people to be up to date on their vaccines — all vaccines in general, flu vaccines and all the childhood vaccinations. That includes COVID vaccines. People if they haven't had a bivalent vaccine should still get it

That's not a mandate. It's the advice from the medical community that we still want people to keep in mind.

The pause on evictions, tied to COVID already ended almost a year-and-a-half ago. But now, will we see any housing-related changes in New York?

Most of the pandemic-related housing protections were already lifted. The most significant one for tenants in New York was the end of the eviction moratorium now more than a year ago, which has unfortunately led to a steady rise in evictions.

There is some I think federal mortgage forbearance, which is still in place, and will probably be lifted now as well. [The Federal Housing Administration states that it’s taking applications until May 31.]

Unfortunately, most of the negative impacts on tenants were already enduring. And it's why I'm fighting a lot with many colleagues for things like more attorneys to defend tenants who are in eviction proceedings, because the number of cases has gone up steadily since the pandemic era moratorium was lifted. We actually have now more eviction cases than we have tenant attorneys. That's, in my opinion, really unacceptable.

Let's talk a little bit about Title 42. The policy that let immigration officials turn away migrants at the border also has ended.

How do we expect that to impact things here in the five boroughs?

We don't exactly know, Michael, because we don't know what the situation at the border will look like come Friday. We have to be ready for the possibility that we have an increase in the number of arrivals.

Even now, we're getting two or three buses a day, which might not sound like a lot. But if you add that up over weeks and months, it really is a large influx.

I'm really proud of New York City, and the way we've welcomed these arrivals with open arms. I have no doubt that they're going to be great for New York City as every other wave of arrivals has been.

But they do have real needs in the short term for shelter, and in some cases, even food and clothing. And, you know, we have an obligation to help. But I'd say the whole state has an obligation to help, not just New York City, and we do need everyone to step up and assist.

Borough President Levine, you're a county executive like Ed Day in Rockland County and Stephen Neuhaus in Orange County.

You're talking about how you're proud of what New York City has done in welcoming and accepting migrants and housing them ... and offering services.

But there are some people, as Ed Day has said, who are not rolling out the welcome mat for these migrants. I want your thoughts on that.

It's really disappointing. The Statue of Liberty is not just a symbol for New York City. It's a symbol for New York state.

We are and should be a state that welcomes newcomers. It’s really disappointing to see other parts of the region reacting with such hostility, and Ed Day has been on a media tour on right-wing outlets in which he's invoked all sorts of xenophobic tropes, which is really, in my opinion, reprehensible.

I want to see everyone stepping up to support these recent arrivals — people who are fleeing desperate conditions in their home countries, people who will ultimately be a major net positive contributor to our city, our region, our state, and they need a helping hand now. We should all step up to provide that assistance, not just New York City, but everyone in the state and region.

Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Michael Hill's name.