Residents Swarm Germond Park For COVID-19 Test Kits, Masks

CLARKSTOWN, NY — Trying to distribute their latest allotment of N95 masks and coronavirus test kits before the weekend snowstorm, Clarkstown officials ran an afternoon pick-up event at Germonds Park Wednesday and created a traffic nightmare.

Social media documented the result. "Literally backed up for miles in all directions," one poster described the roads. Parents, students and school buses were caught up in the traffic jams.

Town officials apologized.

We had an overwhelming response and therefore had many unintended consequences. We dispatched additional Police Officers and Town staff to meet the demand for the free test kits and to address traffic issues throughout the area. Thank you to everyone who patiently waited to receive their at-home test kits and masks. We apologize to the many residents affected by the heavy traffic and other impacts due to the high demand for COVID test kits. The Town of Clarkstown will continue to work to get test kits and N95 masks to our residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Demand was so great that the park's parking lot was already packed with cars in line by 2 p.m., an hour before the distribution was scheduled to start. In all, Clarkstown officials said they distributed more than 7,000 test kits and more than 10,000 N95 masks.

While scoffers also abounded on social media, the county's own metrics showed the disease has taken a toll locally.

Between Jan. 1-25, 56 people died of COVID-19 in Rockland County according to the New York Times.

"The test positivity rate in Rockland County is very high, suggesting that cases are being significantly undercounted," the Times reported.

The number of available hospital beds in the county plummeted during the winter surge.

However, hospitalizations for COVID-19, while far higher than the same time last year, have begun dropping.

Masks

Now that federal officials are emphasizing that N95 and KN95 masks offer better protection against the omicron variant of COVID-19 over cloth face coverings, many people are seeking them and trying to avoid the many fakes on the market, the Associated Press reported

The Biden administration has begun making 400 million N95 masks available for free to U.S. residents. White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients called it “the largest deployment of personal protective equipment in U.S. history.”

They will come from the government's Strategic National Stockpile, which has more than 750 million of the highly protective masks on hand.

This will be the largest distribution of free masks by the federal government to the public since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In early 2020, then-President Donald Trump's administration considered and then shelved plans to send masks to people at their homes. President Joe Biden embraced the initiative after facing mounting criticism this month over the inaccessibility — both in supply and cost — of N95 masks as the highly transmissible omicron variant swept across the country.

The White House said the masks will be made available at pharmacies and community health centers that have partnered with the federal government's COVID-19 vaccination campaign. That includes CVS and Walgreens.

N95 or KN95 masks are more widely available now than at any other time during the pandemic, the AP said, though they are often more costly than less-protective surgical masks or cloth masks.

The best mask “is the one that you will wear and the one you can keep on all day long, that you can tolerate in public indoor settings,” CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said last week.

Tests

New York State has been providing limited supplies of free, at-home COVID-19 test kits. As the county receives shipments from the state, tests kits are distributed to towns for distribution.

"The COVID-19 at-home test kits received by Rockland County have been distributed directly to the five towns based on population as they know their community's needs best. This is a process the County plans to continue to utilize for future distributions," said spokesman John Lyon.

Also, every home in the U.S. is eligible to order four free at-home rapid antigen COVID-19 tests from the federal government. Orders are expected to ship in 7-12 days and will be delivered by the USPS. Visit COVIDTests.gov to order.

Testing is also readily available in the county.

• Rockland Community College is open as a New York State COVID-19 testing site, providing oral, saliva-based PCR COVID-19 tests. The site is open for testing on weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. To make an appointment click here.
• Another state-operated COVID testing site is at the Patriot Hills Golf Club, 19 Club House Lane, Stony Point, NY, open Monday – Saturday from 8 AM – 6 PM. Walk-ins are allowed but appointments are strongly encouraged. For appointments: www.gogettested.com