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NYC Test & Trace Corps Partners With Over 200 Houses of Worship to Expand At-Home Test Distribution During Religious Holidays
Apr 25, 2022
The NYC Test & Trace Corps announced today that its At-Home Test Distribution Program — which is distributing 6.3 million at-home tests this month — has partnered with 226 houses of worship and faith-based groups in New York City, further expanding its network of at-home test distribution locations during the height of the religious holiday season. Test & Trace has distributed over 250,000 at-home tests to houses of worship and faith-based groups from the Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Interfaith, Jain, and Sikh traditions to help New Yorkers safely congregate as they practice their faiths.
“Our network of community partners and faith groups distributing at-home tests has made testing in New York City accessible wherever its needed,” said New York City Mayor Eric Adams. “New York’s churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, and religious cultural centers are pillars of their communities, and I thank them for leading the fight against COVID-19 by providing testing to their members.”
““Houses of worship and faith-based groups are trusted locations we want New Yorkers to know they can pick up at-home tests,” said Dr. Ted Long, Executive Director of the NYC Test & Trace Corps and Senior Vice President of Ambulatory Care and Population Health at NYC Health + Hospitals. “I want to thank New York City’s diverse faith communities that have partnered with us to ensure protect their members during the Easter, Passover, Ramadan and Vaisakhi holidays.”
“NYC’s faith communities have been the vanguard of COVID prevention and support throughout this pandemic,” said Theresa Doherty, NYC Test & Trace Corps Deputy Director of Outreach Campaign. “When they had to forgo in-person services, they found ways to keep their members and broader communities connected to information, services, and when needed, comfort. Now, they continue to be the trusted ambassadors to so many, gently encouraging New Yorkers to keep themselves safe, and making sure people have access to available resources.”
In early April, Mayor Adams announced that the NYC Test & Trace Corps is distributing 6.3 million at-home tests this month. At-home test distribution through Test & Trace’s network of over 2,600 distribution locations brings critical self-testing resources to areas of need at familiar locations, including over 226 houses of worship representing diverse faith communities in all five boroughs.
Test & Trace will continue to make regular deliveries of at-home tests to cultural sites, libraries, community-based organizations, elected offices, and houses of worship where they will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis and limited to one per person.
Any New York City-based community organization that would like to participate as an at-home test distribution partner is encouraged to sign up online. New Yorkers can find an at-home test distribution location most convenient to them by visiting the city’s coronavirus testing page.
If you or a loved one test positive for COVID-19, including while using an-at home test, please call the 212-COVID19 hotline to be immediately connceted to a doctor who can prescribe Paxlovid and arrange to have it delivered to your home. If you call the COVID hotline and press 9, in a matter of minutes, you’ll be on the phone with a doctor who can tell you if you’re eligible for this lifesaving treatment.
“Our neighborhood would be a lot worse off and our Masjid would not have been able to reach out to the people the way we did without the support of the NYC Test & Trace Corps,” said Imam Abdul Azeez of the Ashshifaa Inc/Al Masjidu Adam Community Life Center. “We serviced the neighborhood and built their trust, then we opened our doors to those who wanted to be tested. Thank you for making this difficult task a great deal easier. May the mercy of Almighty God be upon you and all of the essential workers for your efforts and sacrifices during the pandemic. Thank you.”
“Catholic Charities Community Services is proud to partner with the NYC Test and Trace Corps to bring at-home COVID tests to the vulnerable communities we serve,” said John Espinal of Catholic Charities. “Since the beginning of this pandemic, our staff have continued our mission to ‘provide help, create hope,’ delivering essential services through our network of programs and partners. In addition to partnering with NYC to facilitate COVID testing, vaccinations and distributing PPE, these at-home COVID tests provide our clients and staff additional security to make sure we all can see the end of this pandemic. We may not be out of the woods just yet, but as long as we are able to ‘provide help,’ we’ll be able to ‘create hope,’ together.”
“We are grateful to be included in the At-Home Test Distribution program,” said Abdulai Bah of the Futa Masjid. “Cortelyou Congregation members are delighted to have access to free test kits, making it a lot easier to keep up with their jobs and help prevent the spread of COVID. The program has also made it easier for those with language barriers to receive the support they need to take the COVID test. It’s such a life-saving program.”
“First Baptist Church of Crown Heights is thankful to the NYC Test & Trace Corps for the resources and at-home tests they are providing,” said Reverend Christine Caton of the First Baptist Church of Crown Heights. “I have used the resources for community outreach and I am also able to bless another small community church with supplies. It is not difficult to order supplies and pick up is very easy. Test & Trace does not just have test kits, but also hand sanitizer, masks, Lysol wipes, and educational material. This is a very useful and valuable service for churches and communities to take advantage of, especially because it is free!”