Photo: Marc A. Hermann / MTA New York City Transit on Flickr
New York is opening pop-up coronavirus testing sites at two Manhattan subway stations next week as the demand for tests skyrockets along with the number of new infections. Starting December 27, walk-in PCR testing will be available every day at Times Square and Grand Central Terminal stations, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced on Wednesday. The state is currently experiencing a surge in new Covid cases, which officials are attributing to the highly contagious Omicron variant.
Starting Monday, December 27, the state-funded Covid testing site at the Times Square-42nd Street subway station will be open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Grand Central site will be available from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Both will be closed on New Year’s Day. Five additional testing sites will open in the city next week, with details on locations and times coming soon.
According to the governor, the testing will be available to everyone, including visitors to New York, with no appointment necessary.
“We are working to make testing as widely available and accessible as possible for New Yorkers,” Hochul said. “These new walk-in testing opportunities at our MTA subway stations will provide greater testing access and support our efforts to keep ourselves and our loved ones safe during this winter surge.”
The number of new virus cases in New York hit 28,924 on Wednesday, a new daily record and the sixth consecutive day of 20,000+ new cases in one day. According to the state, over 17,000 of those new cases were reported in New York City.
Hochul on Wednesday said the state has ordered 37 million take-home Covid tests, with 10 million available before the end of the year.
On Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced several new city-run testing sites, bringing the total to 119. The mayor also announced some Health and Hospitals sites will be open later, operating between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The city is also distributing free Binax Covid testing kits at locations across the city.
On Friday, December 24, 2,000 kits will be available starting at 9 a.m. at the following locations: Bryan Park in the Bronx, the corner of Church and Flatbush Avenues in Brooklyn, corner of West 125th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard in Manhattan, at Jamaica Avenue and 92nd Street in Queens, and at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal on Staten Island.
As part of a plan announced by President Joe Biden this week, three federal Covid testing sites have opened in Queens, including at Travers Park in Jackson Heights, Queens Valley Playground in Kew Gardens, and Helen Marshall Playground in East Elmhurst. The federal sites will provide 25,000 free PCR tests per week in total, according to the White House.
Find a testing site near you here or by texting “COVID TEST” to 855-48. Health and Hospitals sites are listed here.
De Blasio on Tuesday also announced that all New Yorkers who receive a Covid booster shot between now and December 31 will receive $100. Find out where you can get your booster here.
RELATED: