Update, 3/15/20 8:24 p.m.: The Three Village Civic Association posted later on Sunday that “due to a worldwide shortage, Stony Brook University Hospital did not receive the swabs needed to conduct their COVID-19 drive-thru testing as planned and is now on hold.” This article was updated to reflect that.
Stony Brook University Hospital could set up a COVID-19 drive-through testing site in the university’s South Commuter Lot, according to an email from the Three Village Civic Association.
“This service will be for patients who are clinically stable who have an order or prescription for testing following a physician or telemedicine visit,” the civic association emphasized in the email.
Stony Brook University was authorized to start testing for COVID-19 as soon as March 5, according to a tweet from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone declared a state of emergency in Suffolk County on Thursday. At the time, there were 16 COVID-19 patients in the county: one patient was in Huntington; one in the Town of Islip; eight in Southold; four in the Town of Brookhaven; and two in Smithtown. Three of those cases were quarantined at Stony Brook University Hospital on March 11 — there have not been any updates from the hospital since on how many COVID-19 patients it’s holding.
There are 729 positive COVID-19 cases statewide, according to Cuomo in a March 15 press conference. Forty-seven of those cases are in Suffolk County.
As of March 15, Stony Brook University Hospital is advising patients with cold and flu-like symptoms to go directly to the hospital’s Emergency Department. Between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., patients driving to the Emergency Department entrance will be screened from their cars by hospital staff. The hospital emphasized that patients “should not go to the Ambulatory Care Pavilion unless directed to do so by Emergency Department staff.”
The hospital stopped visitation on March 13 after New York declared a state of emergency in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19.
“During this time, please call by phone or use FaceTime, Skype or other means of communication to connect with your loved one in the hospital,” the hospital’s website read.
There will be some exceptions to the no visitor rule. Pediatrics will allow two parents or a legal guardian. The labor department will allow one spouse or partner. The End of Life department will determine visitation on a case-by-case basis, and the NICU unit, which provides intensive care to newborns, will allow two parents or a legal guardian.
Stony Brook University did not respond to a request for comment before this article was published.
