Long lines and unsafe conditions await at some Queens COVID test sites
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Inside the CityMD in Auburndale, patients sat back to back in a crowded waiting room Wednesday. Photo obtained by the Eagle
By David Brand
As Queens’ COVID rate rises, long lines are again forming outside testing sites across the borough — and unsafe conditions may await patients once they finally enter the buildings.
An Eagle reader on Wednesday sent photos from the line outside a CityMD in Auburndale, where a few dozen people waited in the rain for their tests. The reader said the process took four hours overall and strangers sat crammed together inside the building.
Two people, for example, sat in chairs positioned back to back in the center of the crowded waiting room, the reader said. A representative for the Auburndale CityMD took a message and said a manager would respond to questions about the conditions. The manager did not respond.
The seven-day test positivity rate in Auburndale’s zip code 11358 was 1.27 percent as of Thursday, according to city Health Department data. New York City’s seven-day test positivity rate reached 2.6 percent Thursday.
The New York City Department of Health referred questions about test site safety to the state Health Department.
“That said, with over 200 testing sites in NYC, the City is making it as easy as possible to get a COVID-19 test,” said New York City Health Department spokesperson Michael Lanza. He encouraged New Yorkers to visit nyc.gov/COVIDtest to find a testing location.
The state Health Department has not responded to a request for comment.
The city, state and private companies have established dozens of testing sites in Queens, but residents say the current number is still not enough to serve a borough of 2.3 million people.
The line outside the Auburndale CityMD Wednesday evening. Photo obtained by the Eagle
South Queens Democratic District Leader Richard David said he waited three hours at a rapid testing site in Far Rockaway Nov. 3 — the only rapid testing site in Queens at the time.
“The city said they’re going to offer dozens of rapid testing sites. We are in a surge and we’ve had months to prepare for this,” David said.
He specifically cited the dearth of testing sites in Richmond Hill, the zip code with the highest COVID-19 seven-day average positivity rate in the city Thursday — 6.46 percent. Many community members are gearing up for Diwali and Thanksgiving over the next two weeks.
“For this to happen in Richmond Hill, for there to be no outreach or awareness ahead of a festive season is a joke,” David said. “The mayor doesn’t know what he’s doing.”
Queens residents have also reported long lines at testing sites in Astoria, home to a zip code with the city’s fourth highest seven-day COVID positivity rate Wednesday.
Jackson Heights resident Justine Evans tweeted about her a long a line stretching from the front door of a City Md on 31st Street at about 7 p.m. on Nov. 10.
“I was flying by on my bike, but the line went out the door, past the other two storefronts (Zales and Express), and wrapped around onto 31st Ave,” Evans told the Eagle. “I’d guess 40 people waiting outside. Many were 20s, 30s. I noticed several couples.”
“I’m honestly shaken by how long that line was,” she tweeted.
