Residents Offer Suggestions To Improve Roosevelt Island Covid 19 Testing And Vaccination Service, Is Anybody Listening? Cheers To Local Nisi Restaurant For Providing Free Hot Chocolate To Freezing Roosevelt Island Residents Waiting On 3-4 Hour Line For Covid Testing, Latest Covid Stats Too

The NYC Health & Hospitals contractor DocGo Mobile Covid Test and Vaccination Unit Van arrived for a Roosevelt Island week long stay at Good Shepherd Plaza last Monday. 

Today, Friday December 24th, is the last day scheduled for now.

While the mobile DocGo Covid and Vaccination Unit Roosevelt Island service was needed and welcomed this week, there were problems each day starting last Monday with long wait lines of 3-4 hours in the freezing cold.

Third day of 3 to 4 hour waiting on line in the cold for Roosevelt Island residents some elderly or disabled @NYCHealthSystem COVID mobile Test Van Site. No rapid test and ran out of at home test by 10:30. No more than 45 on line at any one time. https://t.co/2Bqfs4riQl pic.twitter.com/U3lmQjVw8o

— Roosevelt Islander (@Rooseveltisland) December 22, 2021

Comments from Roosevelt Islander Instagram yesterday:

• Waited for 3 hours. It’s insane how long it took. But I have to say everyone was very courteous and helpful.
  
• They were terrible. Was in line for 4 hours and it was avoidable. They never told us you had to register until you joined the line. Public safety could’ve have the code for people to do that instead of leaving the line and coming back. Then they ran out of PCR’s. Instead of having one person do testing and are in that line, and other in a line for COVID vaccines they just let those wanting to get vaccinated just can walk up to the van and do it! Public safety didn’t help at all with the overflow. They just allowed some random person to walk up and ask questions while holding up the line causing the testing to stop! The mobile van has about 5-6 people in there and it makes no sense you have one person doing testing and then they stop to do COVD vaccines or assist someone else with all those people in there. What also made that set up worse? They had someone in that van not wearing a mask!

More suggestions for improving the service next time on Roosevelt Island here.

Roosevelt Island resident Josina Baez adds:

Why did the residents of Roosevelt Island have to stand for many hours on a very cold and windy plaza, when across the street we have a covered and better protected sidewalk?

What is so complicated that when it is your turn, a Public Safety officer guides you across the street to the DocGo van? There were many elderly and handicapped residents standing for 3-4 hours in bitter cold, that was dangerous, unsafe and unhealthy !

I did go to the Public Safety Office to ask if it was possible to make the move to the covered sidewalk and the answer was that “they” would take it into consideration.

NISI restaurant provided free hot chocolate which brought big smiles and greatly appreciated !

THANK YOU NISI ! 

According to NYC Health Department, the most recent 7 Day Covid Testing Data from December 14 - 20 for Roosevelt Island (Zip Code 10044 ) shows 932 people tested and 78 Positive Cases for a rate of 8.37%.

 As previously reported the:

... 7 Day Covid Testing Data from December 13 - 19 for Roosevelt Island (Zip Code 10044 ) shows 980 people tested and 79 Positive Cases for a rate of 8.06%....

... 7 Day Covid Testing Data from December 11 - 17, on Roosevelt Island (Zip Code 10044 ) shows 835 people tested and 51 Positive Case for a rate of 6.11%

 7 Day Covid Testing Data from December 10 - 16, on Roosevelt Island (Zip Code 10044 ) shows 778 people tested and 36 Positive Case for a rate of 4.63% 

7 Day Covid Testing Data from December 7 - 13 for Roosevelt Island (Zip Code 10044 ) - 813 people were tested and 33 Positive Case for a rate of 4.06%.  

7 Day Covid Testing Data from December 6 - 12, when the Covid Mobile Test Van was here on Roosevelt Island (Zip Code 10044 ), 973 people were tested resulting in 30 Positive Case for a rate of 3.08%. 

7 Day Covid Testing Data from November 24 - November 30  for Roosevelt Island Zip Code 10044 shows 578 people tested and 15 Positive Case for a rate of 2.6%...

We are distributing at-home testing kits to those waiting in long lines at our brick-and-mortar #COVID19 testing locations as well as #NYCTestandTrace Corps sites throughout the city. Find a location convenient for you: https://t.co/xojG5eUxec pic.twitter.com/HLdyQd8Up4

— NYC Health + Hospitals (@NYCHealthSystem) December 24, 2021

UPDATE 12/25:

NISI is a treasure for Roosevelt Island.

— Sher Conner (@SherConner) December 25, 2021

Roosevelt Islander Instagram comments:

• After standing on line for 3 hrs this am. It was the best treat from @nisikitchen . Thank you!
• I got a cold just from staying in that line for so long…! I am thankful that we have this truck on the island but it is absolutely ridiculous how long it takes!