Suffolk County To Open Drive-Up COVID-19 Testing Sites

SUFFOLK COUNTY, NY — Suffolk County will be opening more COVID-19 rapid testing locations — drive-up sites that are first-come, first-serve — over the next couple of days, county officials said Tuesday.

A site will open on Wednesday at Field 8 of Heckscher Park, which is located at 1 Heckscher State Parkway in East Islip in East Islip to handle community testing only. It will run from Monday to Thursday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The second site will open Jan. 3 at Red Creek Park, 102 Old Riverhead Rd., Hampton Bays. It will be open for school-required testing and community testing on Mondays only from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

A third site will open Jan. 4 at Cathedral Pines County Park, which is located at 116 Yaphank-Middle Island Rd. in Middle Island. It will be open for community testing only on Tuesdays and Fridays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Red Creek Park and Cathedral Pines Park sites will have testing capacity for up to 500 tests per day. The Heckscher Park site will have testing capacity for 1,000 tests per day.

County Executive Steve Bellone announced last week that other sites are opening in areas where there is a high positivity rate. A site opened in West Sayville on Monday and another location is expected to open in Sound Beach start Jan. 4.

Another drive-up testing site is operating at Smith Point County Park in Shirley, but it is for county employees and their families only.

"What we have learned so far is that the omicron variant is highly transmittable and causing a spike in our daily positivity rate,” Bellone said. “Testing is one of the best tools we have when it comes to containing the spread of this virus. As we approach the New Year, these three new sites will provide quick and convenient results for our residents so that they can protect themselves and their loved ones.”

Residents with questions can contact Suffolk311.