Hundreds lined up at the Magazine Street Fire Station Uptown this morning to pick up one of the free at-home COVID tests being offered by the city, but many were turned away after they ran out in just under an hour.
The line stretched all the way down Magazine Street and back around to Constance, with many waiting 45 minutes for a chance at an elusive home testing kit. Just under an hour after the 8 AM start, the station had run dry, and people were turned away.
WWL
I spoke with those folks who weren’t able to score a kit. The mood was disappointed, but not angry. Many praised the city for doing the giveaway, and just hoped they would be able to secure more kits before Christmas.
Here’s a sampling of some of what people were thinking just minutes after the giveaway was concluded with people still lined up down the street. It begins with a firefighter who was handing out the kits:
Getty
The good news is the City managed to scrounge up some more kits and they’ll be available today until 4 PM, or until supplies run out, at parish libraries.
It should be noted that I managed to get in line early enough to get one of the kits, and brought it back to the station. One of the staff used the Ellume device, but it was defective. It provided an error message and a somewhat taunting recommendation that they find another kit, and try again.
