Coronavirus Testing Sites To Open On SUNY Campuses: Hochul

LONG ISLAND, NY — As COVID-19 continues its winter surge across Long Island, Gov. Kathy Hochul on Monday announced the use of SUNY campuses to expand testing opportunities statewide.

The news came as the The Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized the Pfizer COVID-19 booster for kids 12 to 15.

According to Hochul, Long Island continues to see an uptick in positive test results, with a rolling 7-day average of 24.94 percent, compared to the statewide average of 23.17 percent.

Long Island's seven-day average of cases per 100,000 was 398.82, compared to the statewide number of 335.05, Hochul said.

A total of 103 New Yorkers died over the past 24 hours, Hochul said.

The focus remains on vaccinations, boosters, masks, and testing, Hochul said Monday, as schools reopened statewide.

She announced a new partnership with SUNY and Syracuse University, with 10 new testing sites — including the SUNY Stony Brook community testing site — opening on SUNY campuses across the state and at Syracuse University the week of Jan. 3.

Additional campus sites will open in the coming weeks, she said.

In addition to the SUNY testing sites, Syracuse University will also open a testing site at the Carrier Dome. That site will open on Tuesday and will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. At that site, 4,000 tests will be conducted a day and the National Guard will be assisting with staffing.

Exact locations and hours of operation will be announced as the program develops. SUNY testing sites to open later this week include:

• Binghamton University Community Testing Site
• SUNY Plattsburgh Community Testing Site
• SUNY Cortland Community Testing Site
• University of Buffalo Community Testing Site
• Buffalo State College Community Testing Site
• SUNY Oswego Community Testing Site
• SUNY Oneonta Community Testing Site
• SUNY Albany Community Testing Site
• SUNY Stony Brook Community Testing Site
• SUNY Purchase Community Testing Site

During her press briefing Monday, Hochul said the hope was that 2021 would signal the end of the pandemic. "Clearly, it's not. . .We're not in a good place. This is the winter surge we predicted," she said.

On the upside, Hochul reminded that last year, after Super Bowl Sunday, there was a dramatic decline in cases, with the holiday gatherings over.

Hospitalizations continue to rise, Hochul said, but added that beginning on Tuesday, she is going to ask hospitals how many patients were admitted for COVID-19, and how many just tested positive while seeking treatment for other, separate illnesses.

While Hochul said 95 percent of New Yorkers 18 and over have received at least one vaccine, the push is on to ramp up the numbers going for their second dose. To that end, New Yorkers can expect not only robocalls and texts, but personal calls, urging them to get their second vaccinations.

Hochul continued her discussion about the "Test to Stay" program in New York schools, which will allow parents to receive rapid tests in their children's backpacks. If a classmate tests positive, a parent can test their child and if their child is negative, they can return to class the next day — as long as they are tested again in three days.

So far, more than 5.2 million tests have been delivered to New York and 3.78 million arrived on Sunday, she said.

The goal is to keep children in school so their emotional health does not suffer as it did during the pivot to remote learning, Hochul said.