The line for COVID-19 testing at the Variety Boys and Girls Club in Astoria Friday (Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens via Twitter)
Dec. 28, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Officials are opening more COVID-19 test sites across Queens this week as COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket.
The city, state as well as local lawmakers are all opening additional test sites to meet increased demand. New Yorkers have been waiting in lines for hours to get a coveted COVID-19 test amid a surge of new cases.
The highly contagious Omicron variant combined with holiday gatherings has seen the number of cases climb. Over the past seven days, more than 20,000 New York City residents have contracted the virus each day on average, according to the latest city data.
To help meet the demand, three western Queens legislators have opened a COVID-19 testing site at a local nonprofit in Astoria.
State Sen. Michael Gianaris, Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani and Council Member Tiffany Cabán announced Monday that they have added a mobile test site outside the Variety Boys and Girls Club on 21st Street that will run through the end of January.
It’s the second test site the legislators have opened at the nonprofit.
The site opened Monday outside the 30-55 21st St. club just three days after the initial site opened inside the clubhouse. It is open through the end of January, while the first site is more temporary and closes on Dec. 31.
The three legislators have been calling on the city to bring more test sites to Astoria amid a surge of new cases. They added both sites at the Variety Boys and Girls Club through their own organizing efforts.
“With Omicron continuing to surge, it is vital that we continue to increase our capacity to test, treat, and vaccinate our neighbors,” Cabán said in a statement.
The city’s testing capacity has yet to meet the increased demand for tests with the new Omicron variant.
“NYC is the epicenter of the Omicron variant today and yet it can still take hours in the cold for our neighbors to get tested,” Mamdani said.
The new site is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and doesn’t require an appointment. It’s operated by Ridgewood Diagnostic Laboratories.
(State Sen. Michael Gianaris)
The initial test site at the Boys and Girls Club is open each day from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Dec. 31 — in conjunction with MetPath Laboratories.
Variety Boys and Girls Club of Queens CEO Costa Constantinides said they may extend the operation of the new testing site at the club past January if needed.
“With the need for testing in western Queens so great, we want to serve the community and ensure testing can continue for the month of January and beyond if needed,” he said in a statement.
The lawmakers said they have opened up both sites to help make up for the lack of action from the city to add more sites.
“The rapid spread of the Omicron variant has created great new demand for COVID testing,” Gianaris said. “Western Queens is underserved by the number of testing sites available, and we need more – now.”
They still want the mayor to vastly increase the number of test sites as demand rises.
“Working with my colleagues, we continue delivering real results here in western Queens – it’s time the city does the same,” Gianaris said.
However, the city has opened a handful of additional test sites — including one in Long Island City and one in Rockaway Park in — Queens this week.
The first opened Monday at the Culture Lab, located at 5-25 46th Ave. It’s open Monday to Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Thursday, Friday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The second opened Monday at Beach Channel Educational Campus, located at 100-00 Beach Channel Dr. It’s open Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The state is also opening a mass testing facility at York College — one of five state-runs sites across the five boroughs — Wednesday.
The state site, located at 94-45 Guy R Brewer Blvd., is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. New Yorkers can make an appointment here.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the site’s opening along with a dozen others throughout the state on Friday. She said the state will add more sites.
“We will continue to expand testing availability to every corner of the state, evaluating where more capacity and additional sites are needed soon,” she said in a statement.
Mass testing will be available beginning this Wednesday Dec 29th @YorkCollegeCUNY please spread the word pic.twitter.com/EZABcUhI1W
— Dr. Berenecea Eanes (@Dr_BJEanes) December 28, 2021
To find a COVID-19 test site near you, visit nyc.gov/covidtest.
Queens test sites this week (NYC Health + Hospitals)
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15 Comments
The only reason cases are rising is because more people are freaking out because the govt and media are causing people to panic and go get tested even if they have no symptoms. Everyone is going to get it at some point. It’s a cold. Comorbidities are the cause of death, which is why we’ve seen such a dropoff of deaths attributed to the flu or pneumonia, because everything is blamed on the ‘rona. If you keep getting boosters it’s going to weaken your immune system. Build up those antibodies and stop acting like a lunatic!
You understand that the vaccines don’t contain the virus, right? This isn’t 1940, this isn’t the Polio vaccine. Boosters don’t “weaken your immune system” they provide mRNA that prevents you from being susceptible to the viruses spike protein.
We’ve seen fewer cases of the flu this year because…wait for it…everyone’s wearing masks.
Why are the least informed always the loudest?
Heretic- You’re shockingly misinformed. https://www.thedailybeast.com/macon-county-coroner-brian-hayes-says-he-omits-covid-19-from-death-certificates-report-says
You mean like war, “medical insurance” instead of medical care and gun manufacturing?
Why are there no NYC Health + Hospital sites in Sunnyside?
I pray that we’re going to see a light at the end of the tunnel during omicron in the form of another stimulus check. People are suffering.
Except when Trump did it. That was different because ?
Im other news, Westchester DA declines to pursue charges against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
I had my third shot (booster) the very first day they were approved at the end of September. I’d love to get another shot a couple of weeks before my end-of-February cruise.
If someone can’t shell out a few bucks for an ID, how do dems expect someone to shell out $25 for an at home test every time? More needs to be done.
Let’s hope everyone, vaxxed or not, can spread this thing faster than a wild fire in a California forest. Time to move on from the pandemic. Herd immunity is inching closer.
But less city MDs??? Are the workers at City MD going to these COVID places instead????
Covid has become an industry…. we’ll never get rid of it now that people are making money off it.
You mean like war, “medical insurance” instead of medical care and gun manufacturing?
“Individuals who have received their booster shot do not need to quarantine following an exposure, but should wear a mask for 10 days after the exposure.”
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1227-isolation-quarantine-guidance.html