During Mr. Trump’s address this afternoon from the Rose Garden at the White House, he explained how three big names in medical testing and products Quest, Roche, and one other group (sorry) worked together to create a streamlined, more efficient and accurate test. Formerly, the testing used a model no longer appropriate for widespread testing. The new testing should be able to provide diagnosis within 24 hours.
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Trump declared a National Emergency due to the virus, which make $50 BILLION available to help combat the illness. The global death toll at this point is 5,000. The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. is more than 1,700. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday there have been 41 deaths.
STARBUCKS
Some Starbucks may become drive through only during this crisis. Other Starbucks may limit the number of people allowed inside in response to the coronavirus epidemic, the company said. Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson wrote in a letter to customers that company might also close a store if it feels it is in the best interest of its customers. Any closures will be temporary and decisions will be made on a store-by-store basis.
New York City suburb opens drive-thru virus test facility
A drive-thru coronavirus testing facility opened Friday in New Rochelle, a New York City suburb that has been hit especially hard by by spreading disease. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Friday that that testing at the site, which he called the first of its kind on the East Coast, will be available by appointment only.
New Rochelle residents — particularly those who have been quarantined — will be tested first, though all Westchester County residents will be eligible to make an appointment. As of Thursday, New York had 328 confirmed coronavirus cases, with 148 of those in Westchester County.
The drive-up site features six lanes where medical personnel take swabs and send them to BioReference Laboratories for testing. The whole process takes about 15 minutes, Cuomo said. The drive-thru was opened after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it had granted New York permission to authorize 28 private labs to begin testing
The drive-thru was opened after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it had granted New York permission to authorize 28 private labs to begin testing
– Matt Spillane and Jon Campbell, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
