New NYC COVID Sites Open As 170K People A Day Rush For Tests

NEW YORK, NY — More locations and expanded hours will make city-run test sites the best place for New Yorkers to get a coronavirus test before the holidays, according to Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The mayor said Wednesday that seven new test sites, five at-home test distribution vans and other changes to the city-run coronavirus testing network will help alleviate long lines and delays that have plagued test sites across the five boroughs.

The additions are the latest step the city has taken in a scramble to fix testing woes as demand for COVID-19 testing doubled in the last few weeks.

De Blasio said the city-run sites are likely still a better option than private testing locations.

“Those locations, a lot of them do not have big lines, thankfully,” the mayor said. “And they’re very good at getting you a quick turnaround time.”

To help keep lines short at in-person testing sites, de Blasio pointed to five new vans that will hand out at-home coronavirus tests.

The seven in-person sites will bring the total number of city-run locations to 119, according to de Blasio. All 119 sites will also expand their hours to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., officials said.

The mayor also announced that mobile test vans from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be joining the city's fleet. The vans will be set up at several Queens locations this week and eventually will be able to do a collective 25,000 PCR tests per day, according to the city.

All locations and more information can be found on the city's website.

Also on Wednesday, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that coronavirus testing and booster shots will be available at Grand Central and Times Square station starting Dec. 27.

An allotment of 1.6 million free at-home test kits will also be distributed by the state in New York City, according to the governor. The state will distribute a total of 5 million at-home kits before the New Year, including for a school program and to "emergency managers" throughout the state.

The testing surge comes as New Yorkers try to get tested before the holidays and deal with a record-number of new coronavirus cases fueled by the omicron variant.

New York state has broken its new positive COVID case count record three days in a row, with another 22,478 people testing positive on Sunday — 12,404 of which who live in New York City, according to data.

Officials said Wednesday the city is now testing 170,000 people per day, significantly higher than its previous record of 120,000 tests in a single day.