Harlem COVID Rates Jump Amid Omicron: Here's Where To Get Tested

Nick Garber
Updated ·2 min read

HARLEM, NY — The surge in COVID-19 that is gripping New York City has not spared Harlem, where positive cases have jumped in recent days to their highest level in months, according to city data.

In all of Harlem's eight ZIP codes, the percentage of residents who tested positive during the week that ended Friday was above 6 percent — the highest figure since at least early September, and likely earlier than that.

A total of 1,292 Harlemites tested positive during that recent week, as the state broke its all-time case record three days in a row. (Though testing was limited during the pandemic's early days.)

Health officials have made clear that the highly contagious omicron variant is a major factor in the spread. While the delta variant is still the city's most common — making up 96 percent of cases during the week ending Dec. 4 — omicron has almost certainly gained in recent days, likely beyond the 13 percent share estimated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Health Commissioner Dave Chokshi.

As anxiety spreads about the uptick in cases, long lines have grown outside testing centers, and some New Yorkers have reported being unable to find anywhere to get tested.

The city's official map of COVID-19 testing sites includes dozens of locations across Harlem, including neighborhood drugstores and urgent care clinics.

In addition, the city continues to operate official testing sites in Harlem:

  • Harlem Hospital (212-423-6262): 506 Lenox Ave., at West 136th Street.

    • Open Mon.-Sun. from 8 a.m.-4 p.m.

  • Central Harlem COVID-19 express site: Central Harlem Center, 2238 Fifth Ave. between west 136th and 137th streets. (By appointment only.)

These mobile testing sites are up and running this week:

  • Gotham Health – Sydenham: 264 West 118th St., between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and St. Nicholas Avenue.

    • Open Mon.-Sun. from 9 a.m.-7 p.m.

  • NYCHA Manhattanville: parking lot at 549 West 126th St., just east of Broadway.

    • Open Monday-Sunday, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

And these saliva-based self-test sites are open in Harlem this week:

  • MetroPlus Community Office: 2104 Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard, at West 132nd Street


    • Open Wednesday only, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

  • Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc. (Petioni): 203 West 146th St., between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard.

    • Open Monday and Thursday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

  • Harlem Congregations for Community Improvement, Inc. (Dinkins): 263 West 153rd St., between Frederick Douglass Boulevard and Macombs Place:

    • Open Thursday only, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

If you know of other testing locations in the neighborhood or encounter problems with any of these, let us know in the comments below.

This article originally appeared on the Harlem Patch