Zoom
Friday’s virtual press briefing.
The newly opened CVS rapid-testing site on Long Wharf is slated to have tested between 500 and 550 people for the novel coronavirus by the time the site wraps up its first day taking patients.
City Emergency Operations Director Rick Fontana delivered that update Friday afternoon during the daily virtual coronavirus-related press briefing hosted on the Zoom teleconferencing app by Mayor Justin Elicker and top city officials.
The mayor said that the city now has 931 verified positive Covid-19 cases and 27 confirmed fatalities.
Fontana (pictured) said that CVS’s new rapid testing drive-through center at the former Gateway Community College campus at 60 Sargent Dr. is on schedule to test between 500 and 550 people by the time the site shuts its door for the day at 5 p.m.
He said the site got off to a bit of a late start on Friday as news about its opening trickled out to the public. The state and city expect that the site will test upwards of 1,000 people a day at full capacity.
“This was a very successful first day,” Fontana said.
The site is run and staffed by CVS, whose employees administer the coronavirus tests. Fontana said that New Haven police officers, state police officers, and National Guardsmen from Connecticut’s 103rd Airborne also staff the site and help manage traffic.
Fontana reiterated that tests are free to any Connecticut resident and do not require a doctor’s note.
Residents are strongly encouraged to register in advance at this website before showing up for an appointment.
While the site is primarily a drive-through operation, CVS is accepting walk-up patients. People without cars and people with disabilities can call 2 – 1‑1 in advance to coordinate a free taxi ride through the M7 taxi service.
People who just show up at the testing site can also work with CVS employees to set up an appointment. If someone shows up not in a vehicle, CVS and the state will provide an on-call M7 taxi for the patient to climb into before receiving the coronavirus test.
Elicker (pictured) said that patients must be in a vehicle when they receive the actual test to reduce potential exposure to the virus for clinicians administering the test.
Fontana and Elicker stressed that the city strongly encourages people register in advance on the CVS website or by calling 2 – 1‑1 instead of just showing up without an appointment.
The state has contracted with CVS to keep the Long Wharf rapid testing site open for the next 41 days, Fontana said.
“The state has never said anything but, ‘What can we do to help,’” he added.
“We’re happy that New Haven can be the place to open up our doors and help people throughout the state,” said Elicker.
Fontana added that first responders and “frontline workers,” including those who work at nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and with Connecticut’s homeless population, can show up for testing on their state-designated emergency “region.” New Haven falls into Region 2, he said, and its frontline workers were eligible to be tested Friday. They’ll next be eligible for testing next Thursday.
They do not need to make an appointment, and can just show up on their designated day to be tested.
Fontana stressed that non-frontline workers do not need to wait until next Thursday before setting up an appointment. Any New Havener can sign up to be tested at the CVS site at any time, all for free, thanks to the state’s contract with CVS.
Elicker said that his administration still plans to set up other testing sites elsewhere in the city. He said the city is in conversations with local community healthcare centers and with other private organizations about setting up neighborhood testing sites.
“We’re making some progress on that front.”
Career Update
Elicker said that “things are going quite well” at the isolation shelter at Career High School for homeless individuals who test positive for coronavirus but do not require hospitalization.
Elicker said the city had to work through a challenge with some of the four people currently staying at the Career isolation shelter needing methadone. He said the city has partnered with the APT Foundation, a methadone clinic on Congress Avenue, to make sure that the individuals at Career are still able to receive their medicine.
Fontana said the Career site is staffed by three workers — two Medical Reserve Corps volunteers and one administrator — 24 hours a day. He said that two New Haven police officers are also always on site, both in cruisers covering the school gym’s two entrances.
“I think it’s been very successful,” Fontana said.