NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — More federally run coronavirus testing sites opened in Queens on Thursday as the city handed out thousands of at-home test kits after complaints over hours-long testing wait times.
On Wednesday, the first federally run testing location opened in Jackson Heights’ Travers Park. Two more sites opened Thursday in Flushing’s Queens Valley Playground and East Elmhurst’s Helen Marshall Playground.
Each site will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Earlier this week, President Joe Biden pledged to open the first of several federally run testing sites in New York City, along with other approaches to address surging COVID-19 cases.
"This free testing is going to help reduce the waiting lines — the time you have to stand there — and sometimes it’s an hour or more," Biden said.
Mitch Katz, the chief of the city’s public hospital system, said, "We’re grateful for the ongoing support the federal government has provided NYC during this pandemic to ensure we have the necessary resources to diagnose and treat this terrible virus."
"The impacts we’re seeing from the Omicron variant is further proof that we’re not out of the woods with COVID-19, but the additional testing capacity provided by President Biden and the CDC allows us to detect more of the infection and help New Yorkers heal and stop the spread," Katz added.
Mayor Bill de Blasio thanked Biden on Twitter after the White House shared news of the first city site opening.
As New Yorkers descended on five city-run sites providing free at-home test kits on Thursday, de Blasio announced that five more locations would each be distributing 2,000 free Binax kits on Friday. The sites include:
• BRONX: Bryan Park, Corner of E Fordham Rd and E Kingsbridge Rd, 10458
• BROOKLYN: Flatbush, Corner of Church Ave and Flatbush Ave, 11226
• MANHATTAN: Corner of West 125th St and Malcolm X Blvd, 10027
• QUEENS: Woodhaven, Jamaica Ave and 92nd Street, 11421
• STATEN ISLAND: SI Ferry, 1 Bay St, 10301
Tests were being distributed at the following city-run locations Thursday, although availability by afternoon was unclear:
• BRONX: Soundview, on the corner of Morrison Avenue and Westchester Avenue, 10472
• BROOKLYN: Bensonhurst, on the corner of 18th Avenue and 65th St, 11204
• MANHATTAN: Masaryk Towers, on 75 Columbia Street, 10002
• QUEENS: Corona, on the corner of 37th Avenue and Junction Boulevard, 11368
• STATEN ISLAND: Conference House Park, on the corner of Hylan Boulevard and Saterlee Street, Staten Island, N.Y. 10307
Click here to find additional testing locations.
Long lines were already forming at the Bensonhurst and Masaryk Towers sites early Thursday morning, with some people arriving at the crack of dawn.
Some 17,200 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the city Tuesday, setting another new one-day record since testing became widely available.
New York City has seen the average number of people testing positive each day spike more than 220% in a week, a surge attributed to the rise of the omicron variant.
At least 89,000 people in the city tested positive in the seven day period that ended Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related
Related
