New Covid-19 testing site opens in Elmont

***This story was updated on May 5 at 11 a.m.***

A new rapid testing site is up and running in Elmont, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced on April 28, following the opening of two other sites in Hempstead and Freeport the week before.

The new site is accessible by the Nassau Inter-County Express system, Curran said, and will provide residents with tests regardless of their insurance or immigration status. Multilingual translation services will also be provided.

Additionally, she an-nounced, all three rapid testing sites will provide those who get tested with a free box of food.

“We want to make sure that everyone who qualifies has access to testing,” Curran said in a video posted to Twitter that day.

The news comes as Elmont continues to have one of the highest Covid-29 caseloads in the county. As of last Saturday, Elmont had 1,119 confirmed cases, the fourth-highest number in the county, behind Hempstead, Valley Stream and Freeport.

Reports also indicate the virus is disproportionately affecting communities of color, such as Elmont. State Department of Health data released last month showed the fatality rate among African-Americans was 17 percent statewide, despite the fact that blacks make up only 9 percent of the state’s population. And in Nassau County, blacks represent 13 percent of the population, but made up 17 percent of the county’s deaths.

Elmont’s population is 45.5 percent black, 21.4 percent Latino and 14.8 percent white, according to Data USA.

“One of the best tools Nassau County has to begin a safe reopening is mass testing, particularly in our hardest-hit areas,” Curran explained in a statement. “This crisis has affected all of us, but it’s shining a bright light on long-standing inequities that we must continue to address in our county and country. That’s why Nassau County is rapidly scaling up access to Covid-19 testing and services in our hardest-hit communities, which are predominantly communities of color.”

To bring greater testing to these areas, County Legislator Carrié Solages and State Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages wrote Gov. Andrew Cuomo last month about the need for more testing facilities in communities with large minority populations, such as Elmont, Valley Stream, Freeport and Inwood. The communities were facing a backlog in testing at the time, Carrié explained in his letter on April 8, “leaving many unable to receive the test in a timely fashion, and therefore forcing them to remain uncertain about their health status.”

He also said African-Americans are more likely to have underlying health conditions that could make Covid-19 more severe — such as heart disease, diabetes and hypertension.

Additionally, State Sen. Todd Kaminsky sent a letter to the State Department of Health on April 15, saying a site should be developed at Belmont Park because it is “a centralized and recognizable location that is easily accessible for Elmont residents.”

“For a community that desperately needs testing resources, it represents the most viable location for such a site,” he wrote. “Placing a testing facility there would ensure that all those in need have proper access to Covid-19 tests.

In response to the county and the Federally Qualified Health Clinics’ efforts to open the new site, Kaminsky thanked Curran and Cuomo, saying it will “address a critical need in the Elmont community,” and Michaelle Solages added,  “It is encouraging to see Nassau County prioritizing the communities that have shown a higher rate of infection and mortality from the Covid-19 pandemic.”

“Establishing an accessible diagnostic testing network is an integral part in managing the spread of the coronavirus,” she said, adding that the Federally Qualified Health Centers are “uniquely equipped to handle the Covid-19 testing process,” as they “have a long history of aiding underserved, immigrant and economically disadvantaged populations in the county.”

To be tested, call (516) 396-7500. The site will be open Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and all appointments must be made over the phone. Testing capacity in New York state remains limited; however, anyone with Covid-19 symptoms should be tested as soon as possible.

More information is available at LIFQHC.org.