NYC opens 25 more COVID testing sites to meet vacation demand

The morning before Thanksgiving, Penn Station was much less crowded with vacation travelers than in the past. But some who visited the travel center on Wednesday weren’t getting on a train – instead, they opted to use the station’s new self-administered COVID-19 test site, run by the health program and hospitals in the city, as an alternative to standing. online for hours.

“It was really easy. There was no line, ”said Kay-Anne Reed, 26, who had traveled from Detroit on vacation with her brother and family. The whole process took about 15 minutes, from giving her contact details to the New York health worker and hospitals in the office, to performing the test itself, which involved sticking a cotton swab in his two nostrils.

Reed is among tens of thousands of people scrambling to get tested before the Thanksgiving holiday. Many have waited in line for hours last week for a COVID-19 test at CityMD clinics or at New York health and hospital sites. Some reluctance to have it paid others to stand in line for them.

As a result, on Tuesday, the city opened 25 more test sites, which will be open during the holiday season, according to Jackie Bray, a member of the city’s COVID-19 response team, who tweeted a list of locations. .

“New York: we heard you! More test sites, shorter lines, ”she says. “We have 25 new test sites opened today in the five boroughs.”

The lines will likely be shorter, at least initially, as it’s unclear how members of the public were supposed to find these sites if they miss them. social media announcement. The new locations are not on the map tool, the city sends people to find a site closest to them. They are also not listed on the Health and Hospitals website.

But those who were able to get tested at the new sites described the experience as quick and easy.

State Senator Brad Hoylman also tweeted approximately two new locations, including the self-administered Penn Station site. The other was at the port authority, where New York City bus passengers and transit workers were seen queuing in front of Gate 66 to be tested.

The testing sites run by Health and Hospitals, as well as CityMD, are all free. But that doesn’t stop people lining up at for-profit clinics that charge. Rapid Test NYC on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan charges $ 250 for a rapid test, which promises results in 30 minutes, and $ 450 for a PCR test, which requires a deeper nasal swab and is considered the “gold standard” testing, with a 24- turnaround time of results.

Father-son duo Hector and Gabriel Troya, who live in New Jersey, specifically came to the Penn Station site because it was free. They waited in line at a clinic in northern New Jersey for 45 minutes two weeks ago and were charged for their visit. He and his father tested positive for COVID and were hoping for negative results this time around.

After hearing a friend who worked in the city talk about the station’s test site, they examined it.

“It looked decent so we decided to give it a try because we didn’t know any other place to go,” said Gabriel.

Here are other places to get tested in New York. Your wait time may vary.