New York Launches Free Coronavirus Antibody Test: Here's How To Get It

A free coronavirus antibody test will be launched in New York City, which should boost the number of people tested, to see if they’ve had the virus, to 140,000.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Thursday the free COVID-19 antibody tests will initially focus on five neighborhoods: Morrisania in the Bronx, East New York in Brooklyn, Upper Manhattan, Concord in Staten Island and Long Island City in Queens.

Five thousand people from these neighborhoods, or 1,000 individuals per site, will be tested each day, provided they set an appointment. The scheduling will begin Friday (May 8) through a dedicated hotline.

"We're going to open up antibody testing to a much bigger group of New Yorkers so more and more people will have the opportunity to get a test," the mayor said. "Combined 280,000 will get antibody tests over just the next few weeks in New York City."

The mayor said the first week of free coronavirus antibody test will cover 70,000 New Yorkers. The second week will also aim for the same numbers but the goal is to run the antibody tests until the start of June.

"There’s so many people in this city, anytime you set up a test site, tens of thousands of people live very nearby," the mayor added. "We want to focus on where the test sites are, not having to have people travel a long way to get to these tests. But we’ll keep adding sites as we go along.”

Those who will call the hotline for their test appointments will be asked personal details, including their employment. They will also be asked to provide a blood sample. The results of the test will be ready within 24 to 48 hours.

A coronavirus antibody test, however, is different from a diagnostic test. This free test will tell if an individual has been infected with the novel coronavirus in the past and has developed the antibodies for it.

The free test comes as New York City's death toll breached to over 20,000 on Wednesday, while its number of positive cases is at 173,288. The mayor, however, said the number of COVID-19 hospital admissions in the city has gone down from 109 to 79 as of the first week of May.