3 Long Island malls to get pop-up COVID-19 test labs

Holiday shoppers will be able to get COVID-19 tests as they buy presents with the opening of pop-up labs at Long Island's Roosevelt Field mall, Smith Haven Mall and Walt Whitman Shops.

Eight-foot by 20-foot collection sites are scheduled to open in the mall parking lots by the end of November, marking the latest step in taking COVID-19 testing beyond hospitals and clinics.

The walk-up collection sites will offer two kinds of tests for active cases of COVID-19 and one antibody test to detect if someone contracted the disease previously and has since developed antibodies.

Tim Shelburn, chief operating officer of the unit of Toronto-based QuestCap Inc., which runs the testing sites, said the facilities will be staffed by three to six laboratory assistants.

"The key to this whole pandemic is testing" he said. "All the malls are expecting heavy holiday traffic."

Shelburn said that the company's contract calls for it to keep the facilities in place for the duration of the pandemic, though they could be repurposed as vaccination sites once those medicines are available.

Roosevelt Field in Garden City, Smith Haven in Lake Grove and Walt Whitman in Huntington Station are operated by Simon Property Group Inc., which has contracted with QuestCap to set up the testing facilities at more than 160 other locations nationwide.

Shelburn said the facilities would accept Medicare, Medicaid and all major insurance policies.

A rapid antibody test returning results the next day will cost $59 and the widely used PCR test for active coronavirus in which a swab is inserted deep into the nose will cost $179.

Antigen tests, also designed to detect the active virus, will cost $99.

Earlier this month the Food and Drug Administration cautioned health care providers to beware of false positives with antigen tests when users do not adhere to instructions.

Two health experts said having collection sites in mall parking lots is a way to expand widespread, convenient testing, but raised some concerns about several aspects of it, including the price.

"This part fulfills the readily accessible part, but it doesn’t fulfill the cheaper part. I mean, it has to be like getting a coffee. I don’t understand the logic behind the pricing," said Ruth Collins, associate professor of the Department of Molecular Medicine at Cornell University in Ithaca.

A Mayo Clinic expert, Dr. William Morice, said he also was concerned about whether the test takers would receive good information regarding follow-up.

"I think No. 1 would be, if people get tested, will they have someone there to explain what the results mean?" said Morice, professor and chairman of the Department of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

On Monday, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran announced a partnership with New York State and Northwell Health to provide free drive-through COVID-19 rapid testing at North Shore Hebrew Academy in Great Neck in response to a recent increase in infections.

Curran also announced a partnership with a hospital, Mount Sinai South Nassau, to provide free drive-through rapid testing in the Five Towns Community Center in Lawrence and, in the coming weeks, the Marion & Aaron Gural Jewish Community Center.

In Suffolk County, free testing is available at 22 sites, including two Rite Aid stores in Shirley and Selden and 18 CVS stores.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.com,tory.parrish@newsday.comkschach,

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.