New York City Residents Reporting Long Lines At COVID Testing Sites; Check The

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — From new variants to holiday gatherings, the number of COVID-19 cases are on the rise in in the Big Apple.

The situation is overwhelming testing sites and those waiting in line.

CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis has more on how the city plans to tackle this.

FIND TESTING SITES: Click here for New York City’s testing site locator, including mobile sites and at-home appointments

AVOID THE LINES: Click here for NYC Health+Hospitals testing wait times

New holiday season, same old story: long lines and wait times at testing sites around the five boroughs, from a mobile van on the Upper West Side to another in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

“I’ve been going to get tested every week here for the last month and a half, two months, and it has been ​five-minute wait at most until this week,” said Ezra Benus of Crown Heights.

On Thursday, Benus said he waited an hour and a half.

“This is after coming yesterday twice and not being able to get tested here,” Benus said.

And at-home tests are flying off store shelves. The pharmacist at Bowen Pharmacy said they’re in such high demand, he could only order a dozen.

“All 12 came in this morning and all 12 are sold out,” Michael Morelli said.

Lines for covid testing at CityMD are again running around the block. It’s outrageous that two years in it’s still so tough to get a test in NYC.

In the meantime, don’t forget about the excellent City-run sites, where the wait is usually much shorter. Updated locations & hours: pic.twitter.com/NZpqn3QpjX

— Mark D. Levine (@MarkLevineNYC) December 16, 2021

“It’s just infuriating that almost two years into this pandemic it’s still so hard to get a test,” said City Councilman Mark Levine, chairman of the Committee on Health.

Levine has been fighting for the supply to meet the demand.

“I think the city and the state and the federal government need to use their purchasing power to buy millions of rapid self-tests that can then be distributed at places like libraries and also can be mailed upon request to people’s homes,” Levine said.

COVID VACCINE

To start, the city will distribute 500,000 at-home tests through community-based organizations. It’s part of a plan announced by the city on Thursday, which includes increasing testing capacity.

“New fixed sites for testing and we will be expanding hours and capacity at many of our existing sites,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

“If you come to one of our Test & Trace Corps brick and mortar sites and there’s a line, we’re gonna arm that site with home tests,” Dr. Ted Long said.

CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC

This is all in response to a massive spike. The city says cases have tripled over the last month. Cases are up nearly 50% since last month nationwide. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says while the Delta variant remains the dominant strain, Omicron cases are doubling every two days.

“I think the ‘post-COVID life’ that many have been celebrating is a falsehood and I think we need to continue protecting each other, getting vaccinated,” Benus said.

And the vaccine is a gift that is available to all this holiday season.

If you want to get tested, before you…