Mayor Adams, health officials open new COVID-19 Center of Excellence in Brooklyn

Mayor Eric Adams cut the ribbon Friday on a new COVID-19 Center of Excellence in Brooklyn.
The New York City Health + Hospitals and Gotham Health site is the third of its kind in the city, situated in some of the areas hit hardest by the pandemic.
Adams said, "People think you get the virus and it's over. No, there are some healthcare issues that are long standing."
After being the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adams says New York City is finally entering a new chapter.  That means making sure every New Yorker has what they need to stay healthy physically and emotionally, including strengthening the approach to treating people with long-haul COVID-19 symptoms.
Ted Long, executive director of the NYC Test & Trace Corps, said, "Today we get to take an important step forward and change our focus to look at our recovery.  And recover NYC style under one roof, during that one visit."
The new 55,000-square-foot health center at 815 Broadway is in the heart of Bushwick. 
Bronx Borough President Antonio Reynoso said, "The health problems are here, but because there's no money they don't want to be here. That's when the government steps in. It says we'll do that job because we don't care about the money, we care about your health."
Whether you have had COVID-19 or not, all are welcome.  The goal is to provide tailored treatment of the whole body in one place.
"We want people to start viewing health care as primary care, not emergency room care," said Adams.
The center officially opens Monday for patients, but they say it'll take a couple of months to get fully staffed and operational.
Weekly walk-up distributions will begin next week. A list of locations and hours will be available and updated daily on Test & Trace’s testing page.
NYC Health + Hospitals/Gotham Health also opened centers in the Tremont section of the Bronx and in the Jackson Heights section of Queens.