Coronavirus Testing Center Opens In New Rochelle

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — The first mobile testing facility opened in New Rochelle for people who may have been exposed to the new coronavirus. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who was in the city Friday at the opening of the drive-thru testing center, said residents of New Rochelle and Westchester can use the facility, which produces results in one to two days. The center, run by Northwell Health Labs, is at Glen Island Park, which Westchester County closed to the public Thursday.

The mobile testing center has six lanes for drivers and will test up to 200 people Friday then increase that figure to 500 people a day in the coming days, Cuomo said. People were asked to call, make an appointment and drive to the mobile test center, where medical staff will meet at them at their car and take swab samples. Testing will be done by appointment only. The phone number is 888-364-3065.

New Rochelle residents are the first priority for testing, followed by Westchester residents, Cuomo said.

"This is smarter and safer, because you are not exposing someone if you are positive," Cuomo said.

BioReference Laboratories will conduct the tests, the governor's office said.

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The state's ability to test has been severely limited since the outbreak began. State officials had to argue with the federal government to get permission to do manual testing at a private lab, Cuomo said. Testing is all about identifying someone who is infected with coronavirus, or COVID-19, and showing symptoms, because they spread the disease, the governor said.

"You spread it because you are sneezing, you cough," he said.

Cuomo added, "If you are not showing symptoms, in all probability you are not contagious. So if you have to prioritize you have to prioritize people who are showing symptoms."

Right now the state must prioritize testing, he said. Of major concern is anyone who is part of the vulnerable population, including the elderly, nursing home and assisted facility residents, and those with respiratory illnesses.

The federal government said it has plenty of testing kits, Cuomo said, but that's not the problem.

"The testing kits are the swabs and the containers they come in," he said. "The problem has been there are no labs to do the tests. No labs that were allowed automated testing."

In addition to the tests being conducted at the New Rochelle mobile testing center, the state is partnering with BioReference Laboratories to run an additional 5,000 tests per day — five times the state's target goal when the outbreak started in New York.

This is on top of the testing that will be conducted at the 28 public and private labs across the state and the out-of-state labs with which New York has already contracted.

Northwell Health Labs can process about 30 tests per day, Cuomo said. If the federal government would allow automated testing, that would rise to 1,000 per day.

As of Friday afternoon, there were 421 positive cases of COVID-19 in the state. There have been no deaths. The following are the number of cases from Cuomo's afternoon news conference:

• Westchester County: 158
• New York City: 154
• Nassau County: 51
• Suffolk County: 28
• Rockland County: 9
• Saratoga County: 3
• Ulster County: 5
• Orange County: 3
• Albany County: 2
• Monroe County: 1
• Dutchess County: 3
• Delaware County: 1
• Herkimer County: 1
• Broome County: 1
• Schenectedy: 1

Concerns over the virus — which has infected more than 127,000 people worldwide and caused about 4,700 deaths — have had far-reaching effects. In a series of drastic moves, the NBA, NHL and MLS suspended their seasons and the NCAA canceled March Madness tournaments. The PGA Tour canceled the Players Championship after the first round. The virus also prompted President Donald Trump to restrict travel from Europe.

Cuomo banned all gatherings of 500 or more people, which effective shut down Broadway. Events, gatherings or places of business with less than 500 individuals in attendance will be required to cut capacity by 50 percent, with exceptions being made for spaces where individuals do not make sustained close contact, such as schools, hospitals, public buildings, mass transit, grocery stores and retail stores

Amid fears over the virus, all Mamaroneck public schools planned to close at the end of the school day Friday for two weeks and the City School District of New Rochelle closed all schools from Friday until at least March 25. The Archdiocese of New York also said it would close all elementary schools from Monday until at least March 20.

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