COVID-19 Guide
COVID-19 GUIDE FOR KEY INFORMATION
New York City, The Hamptons & surrounding areas
We have compiled the below information from reliable and valuable sources such as the UN, the WHO, and the CDC; amongst others.
Please know we are not medical professionals and hope the guide below can simply act as an informative piece for you. However, it is vital to contact primary care physicians and those directly in the medical community for the most up-to-date and informative advice during this time.
IMPORTANT CONTACT INFORMATION
It is best to start by contacting your primary physician for the most accurate and up-to-date guidance in your area.
New York State Coronavirus Hotline - (888) 364-3065
Suffolk County has launched SMART 911 so that families and individuals at greatest risk can provide critical information to first responders.
Suffolk County residents can also text “COVID SUFFOLK” to 67283 for the latest news updates and most updated health guidance.
211 is New Jersey's COVID-19 hotline.
211 is also the hotline for Connecticut residences. They can also text “CTCOVID” to 898211 for updated information and news alerts.
KNOWN TEST CENTERS/DRIVE-THRUS
Long Island & The Hamptons
Jones Beach State Park - Wantagh, NY
The first state-run drive-thru testing site
Call the New York State Coronavirus Hotline ((888) 364-3065) to make an appointment
ProHEALTH Urgent Care of Jericho - 555 North Broadway, Jericho, NY 11753
Call the New York State Coronavirus Hotline ((888) 364-3065) or visit prohealthcare.com to make an appointment
Stony Brook University Hospital - 101 Nicolls Rd, Stony Brook, NY 11794
It is a drive-thru mobile testing site that is set up at the University’s South Parking Lot and has six lanes, operating at a speed that can perform up to 1,000 tests per day
Open 7-days per week; 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Call the New York State Coronavirus Hotline ((888) 364-3065) to make an appointment
TEST CENTERS & hospital information
Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, The Bronx, & Staten Island
Updated test sites are not being released to the public in order to keep individuals and families from showing up to the test sites without an appointment.
In order to find the correct test site for you, call the NY Coronavirus Hotline at (888) 364-3065 to schedule an appointment. Their representatives will then arrange for an appointment location that is convenient for you!
The USNS Comfort is currently deployed in New York harbor amid the coronavirus pandemic to aid those in need. The USNS Comfort is a 1,000-bed hospital ship that has provided humanitarian relief and been deployed to war zones around the world. Now located in New York, the goal is to alleviate the stress and traffic from local hospitals.
The Javits Center is another temporary medical station. It has been constructed to house patients tested positive for COVID-19 which will hopefully relieve the traffic in local hospitals. The center is located between 34th and 40th streets in Hell’s Kitchen, and has been transformed into a temporary hospital with 2,500 beds to treat non-coronavirus patients.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT TESTING
Due to a shortage of protective gear for medical personnel performing testing, since Friday, March 20th, testing in NYC is reserved for those who are already hospitalized or are in extremely high-risk categories.
At testing sites, qualified professionals swab those with symptoms to check for the virus. This allows for hospitals and doctors offices to not become over-crowded with those not in critical condition.
Individuals MUST call ahead to make an appointment and be cleared to receive testing. If individuals and families show up to a testing site randomly, they should not expect they will be tested upon arrival - an appointment is needed.
Details of the test…
The test includes 1 or 2 nasopharyngeal (nasal) swabs (oropharyngeal (throat) swabs are no longer provided). The test is then collected at a clinic and sent to an accredited laboratory.
The test will take from 1-3 days to be completed, depending on the specific lab.
Pricing for tests are covered under standard US insurance programs (Aetna, Empire, etc.), either as consultations or as part of hospital care, or as part of specific State’s public health program. If insurance coverage is of question, it is important to ask before completing testing.
If your private doctor or the test site uses a State-controlled public health lab, the chances of receiving a test is very unlikely, as these tests are more often saved for extremely high-risk patients (often those who are already in the hospital).
If your doctor uses a private lab, they MAY be able to offer a separate test, even for those with mild symptoms.
It is important to remember that testing is essential for reassurance and does not change the direction professionals will recommend individuals take.
For example, if an individual is unwell, regardless if they have been tested positive for COVID-19, a 14-day quarantine will remain the recommended next step and treatment recommendations will not change.
Even those returning from “at risk countries” will normally not be tested unless the individual shows symptoms.
If you are tested…
If the test is NEGATIVE, your chances of getting another test is very slim. Though false-negatives are possible, they are rare. Nonetheless, negative tests do not mean individuals can and should return to work and to public areas as usual.
If the test is POSITIVE, you will enter the “containment” phase” and you will most likely be contacted by the local Department of Health so that some contact tracing can take place.
New York City and Los Angeles are in a “mitigation phase” which means contact from the local Department of Health is unlikely as there are too many places individuals can be exposed to the virus, therefore contact tracing will not result in valuable information for the city.
If you have ANY symptoms, regardless if the test is positive or negative, it is suggested individuals follow a 14-day quarantine period.
Someone who has completed their 14-day quarantine or has been released from isolation do not any longer pose a risk of infection to other people.
AT-HOME SELF TESTING OPTIONS
A number of private companies are now offering kits for in-home testing purposes. It is important to note that the UN, WHO, and CDC do not yet endorse any of the below options. It is also important to note most testing companies do not accept insurance. Pricing and availability are subject to change.
NURX - $181 per kit
EVERLY WELL - $135 per kit
(212) 242-7475
requests@fourhundred.com
420 W 14th Street, Suite 2NE
New York, New York 10014
