Thomas Hughes New York City, April 21, 2020—
New York City has activated an emergency service to help locate anyone who might be missing due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio activated the Unified Victim Identification System (UVIS) on Saturday, April 18, 2020. The online form is sent to to the NYPD for further investigation. It is not intended for status updates for any patient whose location is known to be in a specific hospital.
The online portal can be accessed at nyc.gov/CovidMissing. You can also file a report over the phone in the city by calling 311, or, from outside New York City by calling (212)-639-9675.
“This system will help support so many families as they navigate the difficult process of locating a missing loved one,” Mayor de Blasio said in a statement.
The UVIS is operated as a partnership between the city’s Department of Information Technology and Telecommunications, 311, NYPD, and the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
In another area of the city’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, Mayor de Blasio confirmed on Monday, April 20th, that all city permits for events scheduled for the entire month of June would be cancelled, ensuring that annual early summer events such as the Salute to Israel Parade, the Puerto Rican Day Parade, and the city’s 50th annual Pride Parade would not be held, at least not for the time being. All city permits were already cancelled for events scheduled for April and May.
Mayor de Blasio said previously that he could envision professional sports returning to the city’s stadiums in late summer, but without fans.
