East Hampton Town to Open COVID-19 Testing Site Friday
East Hampton Town Supervisor Peter Van Scoyac announced Friday that coronavirus (COVID-19) testing will soon be available in the township. The new pop-up site will begin operating in parking lots adjacent to the athletic fields on Pantigo Place, just east of the Town Hall Complex on Pantigo Road.
Thanks to initial funding from East Hampton Healthcare Foundation and assistance from East Hampton Village Deputy Mayor Barbara Borsack—who is also a member of the East Hampton Healthcare Foundation and Southampton Hospital Association boards—tests will be offered to South Fork residents by appointment on Wednesdays and Fridays.
According to Van Scoyac’s announcement, Hudson River Health Care is administering the diagnostic testing to those with COVID-19 symptoms or those who have been in contact with someone positive for COVID-19, as well as to any workers identified as eligible for tests by New York State. This includes healthcare workers, first responders and “essential employees” who directly interact with the public, such as those in food service, delivery people and human services providers. A full New York Department of Health eligibility list is available online here.
Insurance will be accepted at the East Hampton site, but those who are uninsured and cannot afford the cost of the diagnostic test may be tested for free. Bilingual staff will be on hand, and tests will be provided to eligible patients regardless of immigration status. Appointments may be made by calling 845-553-8030.
“The local availability of COVID-19 diagnostic testing will help us to stop the spread of the virus within our community and move us closer to a safe reopening of our economy,” Van Scoyoc said, noting that tracing the virus will also be a vital component of this strategy. “Contact tracing, which Suffolk County is ramping up, will identify community members exposed to positive COVID-19 cases so that they may also quarantine and help stop the virus’s spread.”
Hudson River Health Care currently offers testing in Southampton Village, adjacent to Stony Brook Southampton Hospital, on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“The additional testing site and days will make diagnostic tests more readily available to East Hampton residents and will help our area to achieve one of the metrics required to begin to reopen sectors of the economy, according to New York State: an ability to test a minimum number of residents for COVID-19 each day,” Van Scoyac’s statement explains. The testing program could also be expanded to include antibody tests—as they become more reliable and widely available—to determine if individuals may have already had the virus.
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