Putnam Test Sites Suspend Operations During Cold Snap

PUTNAM COUNTY, NY — Due to the freezing weather, Putnam County's two testing sites were closed Monday and will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday.

County health officials opened rapid-test sites after Christmas. The sites, at the Paladin Center in Carmel and the Philisptown Recreation Center, were extremely busy, county officials said Friday. From Dec. 27 through Jan. 4, the two drive-through sites tested 4,581 people and found 810, or just over 17 percent, were positive.

“I am impressed with how efficiently these sites are operated,” Legislator Amy Sayegh, chair of the Health Committee, said in a news release. “Hundreds of people come every day, but the lines keep moving and people are treated with respect and compassion.”

As of Jan. 5, there were 3,416 active cases in Putnam, an increase of 71 percent over the previous week, according to the county dashboard. The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 went up to 26 from 20.

As of yesterday, the county's 7-day average positivity rate was 21.3 percent, New York officials said.

Hospitalizations across the Hudson Valley for COVID-19 have skyrocketed since Halloween.

When Putnam's drive-in test sites re-open, they should return to their regular schedule: from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. on weekdays for school children and school district staff and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. seven days a week for all other Putnam County residents. They are operated through an expanded public/private partnership with Ambulnz, the county's new 911 service provider.