COVID-testing map reveals glaring gaps in hard-hit Queens neighborhoods
/The COVID-19 testing project was produced in partnership with the organization Measure of America. The map was made by Renee King and Naomi Tinga of Measure of America. Text by David Brand.
The worst of the COVID-19 crisis is behind us, at least for now. But the public health and economic impact continues to linger, particularly in low-income communities of color hardest-hit by the illness earlier this year.
Widespread, consistent testing is key for preventing a resurgence of the illness, public health experts say, and Queens has certainly made progress in that regard. Four months into the COVID-19 crisis, an analysis by the Eagle and the nonprofit organization Measure of America identified at least 78 testing sites across Queens as of July 1, with a clear expansion of testing in certain neighborhoods devastated by COVID-19. At least 34 of the sites also provide antibody testing.
On July 8, the Eagle published a map of testing sites along with zip code-level death rate data. Today, we present a related map: testing sites atop positive case rates.
See the death rate map and analysis by the Eagle and Measure of America
The map at the top of the page demonstrates that, despite significant gains in testing, glaring gaps persist.
There is just one testing site in East Elmhurst’s zip code 11369, which has for months had the city’s highest positive COVID-19 rate per 100,000 residents, according to city data.
Zip code 11354 in Flushing, home to the city’s third highest death rate, has just two testing locations.
There are no testing sites in a huge chunk of Northeast Queens, including Douglaston and Bellerose’s zip code 11004, which has a higher-than-average COVID-19 case rate.
There are just two testing sites in a large swath of central and eastern Queens, from Kew Gardens to Bayside. And there are few testing sites outside Jamaica in Southeast Queens.
The maps created by Measure of America plot testing site locations with individual neighborhoods shaded to correspond with their death and illness rates. Darker hues indicate higher rates — especially evident in the Elmhurst-Jackson-Heights-Corona area, parts of northern Flushing and the Far Rockaway region.
While thorough, the Eagle/Measure of America maps are not definitive guides.
That’s because COVID-19 and antibody testing locations change by the week. For example, the city opened an antibody testing site at Queens High School of Teaching in Glen Oaks through a partnership with BioReference labs on June 30. Others, like those located at some churches, have closed, with little media attention.
Privately run facilities do not require approval from the city’s Department of Health to start COVID testing, a city Health Department spokesperson said. That means many sites have not yet been compiled in one single source.
The Eagle and Measure of America will continue to add testing sites to our maps as we learn about them.
If you are aware of testing facilities that we did not include in our dataset, please submit information using the form at the end of this article. We will be updating the maps and our data set during the coming months.
