here. that includes confirmed covid cases, those experiencing flu-like symptoms and those generally sick here. the thing is those numbers are twice as high as what we have seen in the last week. so what we're hearing from outgoing mayor bill de blasio, whose term ends in the year, they are weathering the storm, they're taking steps to make sure no calls go unanswered. every firehouse remains open and they expect that to continue as they continue to ask people to not call 911 unless it is absolutely necessary. >> yeah. polo sandoval, thank you for the reporting. joining me now to talk about this, sarah mudad, senior director of the systems wide special pathogens program for new york city health and hospitals, also a fellow at the harvard kennedy center of science and international affairs. thank you very much for being with us this morning. >> good morning. thank you for having me on, poppy. >> you have a really important take, i think, on testing. as i should note, we learned