Skip to main content

Gov. Cuomo’s nursing home mass testing edict leaves labs unable to comply

Healthcare,Public Health,Role Of Government,Safety And Sanity During COVID-19,Coronavirus

From the Right

The state’s top coronavirus test lab is so overwhelmed by the mandated coronavirus testing in nursing homes that they’ve told counties to stop sending them shipments, The Post has learned.

Officials at the embattled state Health Department’s Wadsworth Center in Albany notified multiple county health officers they have reached capacity and are struggling to process the surge in tests.

The logjam comes one week after DOH started quietly increasing testing for nursing home residents, and following Gov. Cuomo’s announcement Sunday of a new executive order mandating that state-licensed nursing homes test staff twice a week.

Facilities are required to submit a plan to the state by Friday, May 15, and noncompliance will be met with license suspension, revocation or a $2,000 penalty per day.

Livingston County’s top health officer was denied shipments of up to 800 COVID-19 swabs on Wednesday, after officials told her the lab was experiencing a delay of “several weeks.”

AllSides Picks

More News about Coronavirus

News from the Left

News from the Center

News from the Right