Long Testing Lines as Cases Jump in North Brooklyn
By Ian MacAllen on Monday, December 20th, 2021 at 11:16 am
Long lines for testing in North Brooklyn continued over the weekend.
Positivity has increased rapidly in New York City over the past week, and the city broke daily records twice.
Williamsburg and Greenpoint are reporting the highest rate of transmission in the city, according to Assembly member Emily Gallagher.
Many restaurants and bars were closed at least temporarily while staff members awaited test results. Some venues have closed through Christmas to allow staff time to get tested, see family, and return with a clean bill of health after the holiday. High positive rates are likely to make labor shortages worse.
Eater had a short list of restaurants that temporarily closed, although many more appeared to be shut over the weekend. Greenpointers Instagram stories had an ongoing compilation.
Greenpointers also has a long list of testing spots.
LCD Soundsystem cancelled the remaining three shows at Brooklyn Steel, the huge venue where the band had been holding a residency.
Several people on the internet have pointed to the shows as a source of transmission. A Reddit poster posited that the 12/9 show was a potential super spreader event.
SantaCon, hosted the previous weekend in Manhattan, likely also helped spread things around.
Home test kits are hard to find with rationing happening in some places. Restock usually disappear within a few hours. They can be found, but plan on checking multiple stores, and do so earlier in the day.