New York State Opens Drive-Through Coronavirus Test Facility
Governor Says Response to Outbreak Could Last More Than 6 Months
The Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge Tappan-Zee Bridge in Westchester, N.Y.
New York State announced the opening of a drive-through coronavirus test facility in New Rochelle on Friday.
The location, operated by Northwell Health, will be able to process 200 tests per day with a planned expansion to 500 in the next few days. Testing will be done by appointment only, with preference given to those individuals who live in New Rochelle, the town where the outbreak is centered around, as well as to those with underlying illnesses such as respiratory diseases.
At the opening of the facility, Governor Cuomo said that the response to the outbreak would likely last six months at the least.
“I don’t believe this is going to be a short-term issue,” Cuomo said. “This is going to be a matter of months.”
The governor also called on the Federal government to decentralize the authority to allow labs to conduct Covid-19 testing.
“”In New York we have dozens of laboratories that could start testing tomorrow,“ he said.
The state is working with BioReference Laboratories with a goal of processing 5,000 tests per day by next week. It has also contracted with 28 additional public and private labs to increase testing throughput.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
