All Nassau Essential Workers Can Get Rapid Coronavirus Tests Now

WESTBURY, NY — Nassau County is expanding testing for the new coronavirus and all essential workers can now get tested, officials announced Thursday.

At a news briefing outside a community clinic in Westbury, Laura Curran, the county executive, encouraged anyone with symptoms to get a diagnostic test at one of the clinics. Essential workers who are not symptomatic can also get tested, she said. This includes first responders, health care workers, law enforcement personnel and grocery store workers.

"Anyone who interacts with the public, who is out there working, can get a test," she said. "You don’t have to be symptomatic to have it done."

The tests can deliver results in 5 to 15 minutes, she said.

The clinics will soon offer antibody testing as well, Curran added. She warned that a lot remains unknown about those who have the antibodies, but stressed even those who do have them can still spread the virus, even if it gives them temporary immunity. The antibody tests will also give officials a better idea of how many people have been infected.

"That will help us also in containment," she said.

To make an appointment at a clinic — the others are located in Hempstead, Elmont and Freeport — people should call 516-396-7500. Same-day appointments are available and tests are performed outside. The clinics are open Monday through Friday.

Those who do not have insurance will not be charged and workers will not ask about immigration status, Curran said.

"So please don't let that stop or prevent you from getting a test," she said.

Wednesday's data showed a slight uptick in the number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations and patients. An additional 15 patients tested positive, bringing the total to 712. Three more patients were placed on ventilators, bringing the total in the county to 193.

Even with the slight uptick, Curran stressed the county has seen a downward trend.

"The change, while it may seem dramatic, may not be as dramatic as when you’re talking about larger numbers," she said.

The rate of infection continued to show signs of slowing. While the percent of patients testing positive had been at 50 percent during the peak, that number has fallen to about 6 percent.

"That’s the lowest we’ve seen so far," Curran said.

The county executive also announced that more businesses and sectors are expected to be moved into the "essential" category, meaning they'll be allowed to reopen sooner. This includes residential construction, medically-necessary elective care and surgeries, curbside retail and even private gardens, which Curran called the "perfect space to practice social distancing."

Curran said her economic advisory group will spread guidance from the state to businesses to help them adjust to the new normal and reopen seamlessly.

"Or as someone put in the paper, as [RXR Realty CEO] Scott Rechler, our 'new abnormal,'" she said.

Long Island has satisfied five of the state's seven metrics needed to begin phase one of reopening, the county executive said.

"We're pretty much where we were yesterday," she said.