TEAM DUE IN ONEONTA WEDNESDAY
ARMORY, ST. JAMES,
FOOTHILLS TO HOST
FREE RAPID-TESTING
Get COVID Results In 15 Minutes
By LIBBY CUDMORE • Special to www.AllOTSEGO.com
ONEONTA – Following the outbreak of COVID-19 at SUNY Oneonta that has infected 105 students, Oneonta residents will be able to make appointments for free rapid COVID-19 testing at the Armory, Foothills and St. James Church starting at 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 2.
“We are continuing our efforts in Oneonta,” said Governor Cuomo in a press release issued a few minutes ago. “SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras made the right decision and the courageous decision to close the campus for two weeks, and now the state is setting up sites for our testing SWAT team to ensure this cluster of cases does not spread throughout the City of Oneonta and beyond.”
The sites will be open 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Thursday-Saturday. Testing is by appointment only. Call 833-NYSTRNG for an appointment.
As part of the Virus SWAT Team, the state Department of Health also will deploy 71 contact tracers and eight case investigators to assist with the testing efforts.
“I thank Governor Cuomo and SUNY for taking swift action to properly test and contact trace in Oneonta following the emergence of this new cluster among the students of SUNY Oneonta,” said Mayor Gary Herzig.
“The availability of rapid testing will not only serve to allay concerns of individual members of our community, it will also provide us with data informing us if there has been transmission beyond the student population,” he said.
So what if you need a test on one of the other 4 days of the week. That’s like saying, well fight the California wildfires on Tuesday and Wednesday and let them burn the rest of the week. The residents of Oneonta deserve better. Rapid testing should be made available every day!