Suffolk To Dole Out At-Home Coronavirus Test Kits: Bellone

HAUPPAUGE, NY — Suffolk County is set to distribute thousands of at-home coronavirus test kits, Executive Steve Bellone announced on Thursday.

Testing kits are due to be delivered to seniors, veterans, first responders, domestic violence shelters, faith-based organizations, and other vulnerable populations. The county partnered with local organizations and non-profits including Island Harvest and Long Island Cares.

Bellone said county officials had hoped the pandemic would be officially over by now, though he is "very hopeful" it will be over by the end of 2022. The omicron variant of the coronavirus is causing a surge in positive cases at a rate Bellone said he has never seen. The executive said he has been keeping a close eye on coronavirus-related hospitalizations and deaths.

"That's what we're trying to prevent here: loss of life," Bellone said. "We have seen so much loss of life from this pandemic."

More Suffolk residents have been recently hospitalized due to the omicron variant than during the "second wave" of the coronavirus in the winter of 2020-21, Bellone said. Between Christmas and New Year's Day, 55 people have died of the coronavirus, he said.

Bellone said he does not know when the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths will peak, but he is hopeful that the downslope will be just as swift. Until then, the county will aim to provide residents with the resources necessary for dealing with the virus, Bellone said. Testing is among the biggest needs within the county. Testing at schools is meant to keep the buildings open for students.

The county shifted from community-based testing to vaccinations over this past year, Bellone said. The omicron variant, however, has now forced the county to shift back to focusing on testing, Bellone said. The effort will include the at-home test kits being distributed throughout the county.

Officials will package care bags, which will include an at-home test kit with two tests, KN95 masks, and hand sanitizer. The at-home test kits are in addition to the county’s three drive-thru rapid community testing sites, which are open to all county residents and have the capacity to test 5,500 people a week. The Health Department is continuing to distribute tens of thousands of tests to Suffolk school districts.

Suffolk County Legislator Leslie Kennedy (R—Hauppauge) said the coronavirus quick tests are not as accurate as the PCR tests. She encouraged anyone who tests negative with a quick test and still has bad coronavirus-like symptoms a couple of days later to take a PCR test.