Churches Open Coronavirus Test Sites This Week

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK — A joint effort to bring new coronavirus test sites into churches aims to address what Gov. Andrew Cuomo called a "cruel fact" — low-income communities and communities of color are paying the highest price in the pandemic.

Temporary COVID-19 test sites will start to open Tuesday in New York City churches, including Bethany Baptist Church in Bed-Stuy. Eventually, 24 churches in largely-minority communities will host the sites.

It's an effort coordinated by the state, local faith leaders, Brooklyn's congressional representatives and Northwell Health.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who hails from Bed-Stuy, appeared during a recent Cuomo news conference to highlight the effort. He said churches have been on the front lines of crises

"So, now at this moment, thanks to their continued engagement and your leadership and willingness to partner, we can address this COVID-19 pandemic with these houses of worship and religious leaders who have the credibility, the authenticity and the capacity to reach those in the community who need to be tested," he said. "Because, at the end of the day, this is not over for any of us until it’s over for all of us."

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Cuomo said 20 of the 21 zip codes with the highest coronavirus hospitalization rates have greater than average African-American or Latino populations. Brooklyn and the Bronx have been especially hit — an unfortunate echo of disasters like Katrina and the Flint water crisis in which low-income communities and communities of color bore the brunt of suffering, he said.

We have to break the cycle, he said.

"New York, we're going right at finding the reasons for the disparity and resolving them," he said. "We're doing more testing in low-income communities and communities of color."

The testing effort coordinated, in part by Jeffries and fellow representatives Nydia Velazquez and Yvette Clarke, begins Tuesday.

Another round of testing sites will open starting May 19.

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