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May 20, 2020 By Michael Dorgan
Flushing will open its first COVID-19 test site Thursday, Council Member Peter Koo has announced.
The testing site will open daily at Chen Excelsior/East Sunrise Medical on 42-66 Kissena Blvd., from May 21 to May 26, Koo said in a statement Tuesday.
COVID-19 diagnostic and antibody testing is available by appointment only. Residents can schedule an appointment by calling 1-833-SOMOSNY.
Koo said that the Flushing community has been asking for a publicly-funded test site since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. The pop-up location marks the first test center to be set up in Flushing, he said.
“Flushing is a resilient community, but we have gone without any publicly-funded testing sites throughout the duration of this outbreak,” Koo said.
“We need to make sure everyone in our community has the ability to get tested,” he said.
Koo thanked Governor Andrew Cuomo for setting up the center and for helping Flushing in their time of need.
The new site is being set up in partnership with SOMOS Community Care – a network of over 2,500 physicians from the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
The move follows newly released Department of Health data which found that Flushing has one of the highest death rates in the city.
Flushing has lost 241 residents to COVID-19 since the beginning of the outbreak, according to the data.
