NY grocery stores to become antibody testing sites

Black Americans were among the hardest hit demographics by the coronavirus, but a light is at the end of the tunnel regarding new testing sites becoming available in New York state.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said (https://13wham.com/news/local/ny-antibody-testing-begins-today) on Sunday that the state would begin testing for COVID-19 antibodies within the population. Fox56.com reported (https://fox56.com/news/coronavirus/some-grocery-stores-including-wegmans-chosen-for-antibody-testingasome-ny-grocery-stores-including-wegmans-chosen-for-antibody-testing) that those testing sites included grocery stores such as Wegmans. The tests will help determine how much of the population is immune to the virus and can go back to work.

Grocery stores have been at the front lines of providing food to local communities during the crisis, but due to the disparity of minorities working these jobs, coupled with historically poor health care, Black Americans and other minorities have suffered tremendously during the outbreak.

The Wegmans on East Avenue in Rochester has been staffed with five nurses working for the New York State Department of Health, and customers and employees are able to take the test. Approximately 100 tests were completed Monday at each store, which involves a finger-prick of blood, and 50 more were expected to be completed on Monday.

As of Monday, April 20, Rochester Regional Health reports (https://www.rochesterregional.org/news/2020/02/coronavirus-in-new-york) that 71 people have died from COVID-19, with 1,016 positive cases in Monroe County. While 426 residents have recovered from the virus, 97 have been hospitalized and 30 are in intensive care units.

According to Fox56.com, Monroe County Health Commissioner Dr. Michael Mendoza said the overall infection rate for the county remains low, attributing social distancing measures to this success.