Pharmacies to Add Covid-19 Testing for Essential Workers

Pharmacies will begin diagnostic testing for all essential workers to help fight the Covid-19 epidemic, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Saturday.

The governor also confirmed 10,553 additional cases, bringing the statewide total to 282,143 confirmed cases in New York. Another 437 more deaths were recorded statewide in the last day.

The expanded criteria will now allow all first responders, health care workers and essential employees to be tested for COVID-19 even if they aren’t symptomatic. The state will continue to expand testing criteria as testing capacity increases.

 More than 5,000 pharmacy locations will be able to provide testing, Cuomo said.

 

The state is continuing to conduct antibody testing for frontline health care workers. Additionally, the state will begin conductI NG antibody testing for first responders and transit workers starting next week, including MTA employees and transit workers, New York State Police and the New York City Police Department.

“We know that testing is a key component of re-opening the economy and getting to a new normal, and New York State is already doing more tests per capita than any state or country,” Governor Cuomo said. “We’ve been working with the federal government to increase the capacity of labs that process these diagnostic tests, and now we need more collection sites so we continue to ramp up our testing across the state. I am issuing an Executive Order allowing our state’s 5,000 pharmacies to conduct diagnostic testing for COVID-19, which will greatly increase our testing capacity and allow us to expand eligibility for these tests to the frontline workers and essential employees who have been going to work and interacting with the public throughout this crisis.”

 

County

Total Positive

New Positive

Albany

899

94

Allegany

35

4

Broome

251

19

Cattaraugus

45

6

Cayuga

47

8

Chautauqua

27

0

Chemung

103

24

Chenango

91

7

Clinton

54

1

Columbia

140

11

Cortland

28

3

Delaware

58

7

Dutchess

2,660

143

Erie

2,773

170

Essex

24

2

Franklin

14

1

Fulton

61

32

Genesee

141

14

Greene

107

17

Hamilton

3

0

Herkimer

56

0

Jefferson

59

1

Lewis

9

0

Livingston

58

14

Madison

121

15

Monroe

1,285

86

Montgomery

46

7

Nassau

33,798

1,033

Niagara

344

12

NYC

155,113

4,640

Oneida

364

41

Onondaga

664

25

Ontario

82

9

Orange

7,973

818

Orleans

75

15

Oswego

57

6

Otsego

60

10

Putnam

885

266

Rensselaer

221

23

Rockland

11,091

1,000

Saratoga

320

42

Schenectady

431

134

Schoharie

33

12

Schuyler

7

0

Seneca

36

18

St. Lawrence

156

12

Steuben

204

33

Suffolk

31,368

762

Sullivan

689

61

Tioga

71

31

Tompkins

126

5

Ulster

1,166

190

Warren

132

10

Washington

113

30

Wayne

65

12

Westchester

27,231

598

Wyoming

57

14

Yates

16

5

 

 

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