Oneida County To Distribute Free COVID Test Kits On Saturday

Oneida County will be giving out more free COVID test kits to county residents.

The free kits will be distributed at drive-thru events at Mohawk Valley Community College and Griffiss International Airport in Rome this weekend.

The kits will be handed out on Saturday, January 29 from 1:00PM to 4:00PM.

Three thousand test kits will be available and will be limited to one per person while supplies last

An additional one thousand kits will be distributed through the Mid-York Library System.

Those kits are free and available to the public via walk-in pick up at participating libraries.

Earlier this month, the county distributed another 1,000 test kits through Mid-York as well.

“Oneida County will continue to give its residents every tool necessary to ensure their health and safety during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic,” Oneida County Executive Picente said. “These free rapid home test kits are useful in helping to identify positive cases and preventing further spread. I encourage everyone to get vaccinated and boosted against this virus and to get tested when displaying the symptoms associated with it. In addition to the distribution of free home test kits, the county also provides many options for PCR tests each week.”

Picente says the county will be announcing more public test kit distribution events in the near future.

Anyone who tests positive using a home kit is required to report the result to the Oneida County Health Department at: (315) 798-5431.

Oneida County is reporting 297 new positive COVID-19 cases and one new COVID-related death

There are 3,341 active positive COVID cases in the county, which has a positivity rate of 9.7 percent.

As of today sixty-eight county residents are hospitalized.