Ten days in May. Twenty-four churches around New York City. Nearly 20,000 coronavirus tests.
Over the past few weeks, churches serving communities of color have been transformed overnight into mini-clinics offering free coronavirus tests to all comers. The initiative, a partnership of the churches, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s office and Northwell Health, is an effort to expand testing among black and Hispanic citizens, who have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Black and Latino New Yorkers have succumbed to Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, at twice the rate of whites, a result of entrenched economic and health disparities, denser housing and a higher risk of exposure on the job.
Participants were asked to preregister by phone, but walk-ins were accommodated so long as they lined up six feet apart and wore masks. Among those who sought testing on a cool, sunny Wednesday in May were two teenage brothers who recently went to a hospital to take home their 50-year-old father, only to find he had died of the virus.
“We were expecting him to be released and were texting with him,” said one brother, who identified himself only as Angel.
“Then he stopped responding.”
A 61-year-old woman said she had taken the subway to work every day throughout the pandemic, but was waking in the middle of the night, short of breath. Another woman wanted a clean bill of health, so she could go to New Jersey to visit her 85-year-old mother; another wanted to know if it was safe for her to go back to work.
Results are now in from the first round of testing at the 24 churches. Of 1,000 residents who had symptoms and sought diagnostic testing, nearly 9 percent were positive for the coronavirus.
Of the 18,000 residents who underwent antibody testing, nearly one in three showed evidence of past exposure to the coronavirus.
An additional round of testing at churches in New York City, the Hudson Valley and on Long Island started June 1 and will continue through June 19. The effort has been so successful that it may continue this summer.
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Lining up for testing at Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn.
Many of those who wanted testing were philosophical about the pandemic. “Hopefully this will open people’s eyes not to take things for granted, to think about your loved ones, to think about your neighbors,” said Lillian Navedo, 61. “To not freak out, to exercise, to call the people you care about.”
“Take a walk every day, say your prayers if you believe. Be positive.”
Jonathan Roque, 56, senior pastor at Damascus Christian Church of Hunts Point, waited for antibody testing last month outside Christian Church John 3:16 in the Bronx’s Longwood section, with his son Brandon, 22, and daughter Imari, 18.
Household roles were reversed in March when Pastor Roque and his wife, Sonia, a nurse, were laid up with Covid-19. Brandon and Imari nursed them back to health.
“It doesn’t hit home till it happens to you,” Imari Roque said. “It was surreal.”
“My father’s not one to say he’s sick, and he has a high threshold for pain, but he looked pale, bluish,” Brandon Roque said. “It was scary. Every day we were hearing of someone in their 50s with diabetes who died, and my dad has diabetes.”
All four family members learned they had antibodies to the coronavirus — even Imari and Brandon, who were never sick. “It’s a relief,” Imari Roque said, but quickly added she was not planning to relax her precautions.
“I know I’m not superwoman,” she said. “I’m not going to do reckless things and risk reinfecting myself or reinfecting my parents.”
People maintained their distance at Bethany Baptist Church.
Testing brought together old friends after months of isolation, so there were a lot of socially distanced hugs. “My church friends are like my extended family. It was a happy moment,” said Renay Foster, 46, who went to Bethany Baptist Church in Brooklyn with her mother and daughters to get tested for antibodies.
Ms. Foster’s family had been hit hard by the coronavirus. She was laid off from her job on March 17; her 26-year-old daughter, Jazmine, got a pink slip the same day. A younger daughter, Jourdan, is a senior in high school, and the family’s sudden loss of income put her college plans in jeopardy.
The worst was yet to come. Ms. Foster’s father, Bernett Coleman, 70, a handyman who was a fixture in the neighborhood, came down with what they all mistook for a bad cold. When he couldn’t stand up on his own, his wife, Wanda, took him to the emergency room. He tested positive for the coronavirus and was admitted to the hospital, where he died 10 days later, on April 7.
Renay Foster’s daughter Jazmine and mother, Wanda Coleman, waited in line outside for testing.
On May 20, Ms. Coleman turned 68 — the first birthday Ms. Coleman celebrated without her husband since she was a teenager. They had been married 49 years.
Now the whole family is planning to move to North Carolina. “We just don’t want to be here anymore,” Ms. Foster said.
Frequently Asked Questions and Advice
Updated June 5, 2020
Does asymptomatic transmission of Covid-19 happen?
So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.
How does blood type influence coronavirus?
A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.
How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?
The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.
Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?
Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.
How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?
Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.
My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?
States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.
What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?
Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.
What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.
How can I protect myself while flying?
If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)
Should I wear a mask?
The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.
What should I do if I feel sick?
If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.
Carmen Mercado, 86, of the Bronx, has diabetes and hypertension. Though she has isolated herself to reduce the chances of exposure, she lives in an intergenerational household with her adult children, her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. The entire family went in for testing together.
Carmen Mercado was helped up the stairs to Christian Church John 3:16 in the Bronx.
They were disappointed when they tested negative for antibodies. “It was a bummer,” said Ms. Mercado’s daughter, Mercedes Torres, 62. “I wanted to be positive with antibodies — it would mean our immune system had kicked in and if, God forbid, anything happens now, with flu season coming and the city reopening, and we don’t know who’s got it and who doesn’t — well, I was hoping we might have antibodies.”
Aurora Robinson, 62, and her mother, Arlene King-Robinson, 81, went to Bethany Baptist Church to be tested for antibodies, though neither had been sick.
Ms. Robinson, a professor who teaches at the Pratt’s Higher Education Opportunity Program, was eager for information because she is particularly vulnerable: She has a heart condition and pre-diabetes, had hip surgery recently and takes medication to suppress her immune system because of Crohn’s disease.
Arlene King-Robinson, center, with her daughter, Aurora Robinson, gave a thumbs up to the Rev. Adolphus Lacey, right, after her antibody test at Bethany Baptist in Brooklyn.
Ms. King-Robinson tested negative for antibodies, and Ms. Robinson tested positive, but said she was confused by the results. “I don’t know what to make of it, or if it’s valid,” she said. “I’m not sure how to utilize this information, considering the inconsistencies of the testing.”
She was concerned that people are letting their guard down.
“I walk down the street and see more people without masks on right now than I did before,” Ms. Robinson said. “It’s not just the young people — it’s the midrange age, the 30-ish, 40-ish. They’re oblivious. And it’s all people: black, white, pink and green. It has no gender, it has no ethnicity — it’s just denial.”
Bethany Baptist was one of 24 churches around New York City that provided testing.
