ITHACA, NY (WSKG) - The drive-thru COVID-19 sampling site in Tompkins County has expanded. The new location is in the parking lot of The Shops at Ithaca Mall, a shopping mall just north of Ithaca.
The site is run by Cayuga Health. According to Dr. Martin Stallone, CEO of Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, people can now be screened online or by phone. They don’t need a doctor’s order to get an appointment.
The new site can see five hundred to a thousand patients a day. If it reaches a thousand, they have enough supplies for a month of sampling.
Stallone said the region isn’t seeing that kind of demand yet.
"If there was greater demand than that, those numbers, that range of 500 to 1,000 we would extend hours or increase capacity at the site," he said.
Stallone said he doesn’t know how great the need for more testing will be, but hopes this prepares the region to handle it.
He said after samples are taken someone will have to stay in home isolation until their symptoms go away regardless of the test results.
Testing through the new site is now free, regardless of health insurance.
Full Disclosure: Cayuga Medical Center is a WSKG Underwriter.