Thousands of New Yorker’s are being tested each day for the coronavirus, and many of them are pulling up for drive-through tests at sites across the New York City area.
The most recent drive-through test site opened last week outside Coney Island Hospital’s Ida Israel Center on West 17th Street in Coney Island. The site was sparsely used compared to the projected demand, as word gets out of the availability.
The drive-thru sites are by appointment only. To make an appointment, call the New York City Health Department Coronavirus hotline at 888-364-3065.
Sites in New Jersey, including Bergen County that were taking anyone who arrived, had to shut down the line after it went beyond capacity Sunday morning. A site in New Rochelle continues to operate, mostly by appointment, though local residents were given opportunity to make appointments on site.
The Coney Island site is in operation at this time Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Ida G. Israel Clinic at 2925 W 19th St. and is by appointment only. The drive-through is the second location run by Coney Island Hospital to offer testing outside of the hospital facility.
A much larger site will be opened in the coming days at MCU Park on Surf Avenue to accommodate large crowds that are expected soon.
The testing is being done by BioReference Laboratory. Tests are free, regardless of insurance or immigration status.
The Staten Island site opened last Thursday, though lines were reported to be manageable as all tests were by appointment only. The majority of those who visited the facility did not have appointments, and were given information to try to make one.
According to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Sunday morning, there were 15,168 cases confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New York State 114 deaths due to complications from the virus.
New York has the highest number of confirmed cases in the country, with more than 10,000 reported as of March 21.
