COVID-19 Testing Readily Available; State Explores Summer Camp Openings

Any New Yorker who needs a diagnostic test for COVID-19 can receive one as the state has met its goal of increasing daily testing capacity to an average of 40,000.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Sunday that there are more than 700 sites throughout the state that are now administering tests and that the drive-through and walk-in sites are under capacity.

“This is a very big advantage for us because testing was originally used to control the virus,” Cuomo said. “Now testing is really going to be very helpful in monitoring the virus.”

He announced a new partnership with CVS Pharmacies to conduct at least 50 tests a day at more than 60 of its locations throughout the state.

However, the new problem is the drive-through and walk-in testing sites are well under daily capacity, Cuomo said. In fact, an average of about 5,000 tests are being conducted at those locations where a maximum of 15,000 can be administered.

As a result, he urged anyone who thinks they have COVID-19 symptoms or has had contact with a person who is positive to be tested, he said. That’s in addition to all healthcare and frontline workers, including nursing home employees and first responders, any essential workers who directly interact with the public and any employee who is returning to work as part of a Phase I reopening.

“If you think you have symptoms, get a test. Get a test,” Cuomo said. “It’s up to you.”

To find a nearby testing location, visit www.coronavirus.health.ny.gov.

Guidelines Forthcoming on Camps, Memorial Day Ceremonies

State officials provided children and their families with a glimmer of hope Sunday that there could be a camp season this summer.

There are many hurdles to clear before that can become a reality; however, neighboring states are also considering the possibility and how to do it safely, said Budget Director Robert Mujica.

He said a major consideration is getting more information on whether there is a threat of a major increase in pediatric multi-system inflammatory syndrome cases. There are now at least 120 cases of the pediatric system across New York, said state Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker.

“We have to make sure we don’t do anything to harm any of these children,” Zucker said. “The numbers keep rising. The governor mentioned 16 states (have cases) but we have over 120 cases here, but if you look across the country it’s past 200.”

Potential guidelines will be released in time to prepare for the traditional late June start of the camp season, Mujica said.

Cuomo said that his office will be issuing guidelines this week on how to hold religious ceremonies and Memorial Day observances. He said perhaps there could be ceremonies with up to 15 people with proper social distancing and other safeguards in place.

Any ceremonies will not include parades, which have been canceled by municipalities this year because of the prohibition on large gatherings.

Two More Regions on Verge of Reopening

Adding more contact tracers is the only standard separating the Capital and Western New York regions from embarking on a Phase I reopening, Cuomo said.

The Capital district, which includes Albany and seven surrounding counties, needs 166 more tracers while Western New York, which encompasses Buffalo, needs another 352. Cuomo said the tracing is largely an administrative function that will soon be met by the state once it can mobilize enough tracers to the regions that are still closed.

After those two regions have reopened, all of New York State north of Dutchess and Ulster counties will have entered a limited reopening.

Long Island, New York City and the Mid-Hudson region, which includes Westchester and Putnam, still fall short. The state’s dashboard was revised on Sunday, which shows Mid-Hudson complying with only four categories, instead of five. However, the dashboard had apparently not included the required number of contact tracers for the region, which is based on population.

The Mid-Hudson region, which had an increase of COVID-19-related deaths on Thursday, has had only two consecutive days of declines in that category. But it has dropped significantly to 11 total deaths on a three-day rolling average. A region could also qualify to reopen in that category if it has less than five deaths on the three-day average.

The region saw a drop in hospitalizations, which is required to be less than 2 per 100,000 residents. The Mid-Hudson number fell from 2.93 to 2.41 yesterday.

Statewide there were 139 deaths on Saturday while the number of new COVID-19-related hospitalizations slid to 374, the first time it has fallen below 400 since early in the crisis.

According to the state Department of Health, Westchester has had 1,289 deaths and Putnam County 57 through Saturday.