Cops had to step in Friday as a crowd mobbed a Brooklyn corner where the city was giving away free at-home COVID-19 tests.
Tempers flared as the larger-than-expected crowd descended on Flatbush and Church avenues, one of five spots in the Big Apple where city health officials were doling out tests amid a surge in demand over the holidays and lack of supply.
New Yorkers reach their hands out hoping to get a free COVID-19 testing kit. Getty Images
Mayor Bill de Blasio promises all New Yorkers who are “waiting in line” will receive COVID-19 testing kits. Getty ImagesPhotos from the scene showed members of the crowd raising their voices and pointing fingers — and cops tried to calm them.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has opened about 120 city testing sites — and has several mobile testing facilities making the rounds on local streets — amid an unprecedented spike in the virus thanks to the Omicron variant.
A city health official carefully gives a free at-home COVID-19 testing box as people trample over each other. Getty Images
An angry person yells at city health officials after free at-home COVID-19 tests were no longer available. Getty Images“We’ve opened new city-run testing sites in all five boroughs and have been handing out at-home #COVID-19 tests to those waiting in line,” de Blasio said on Twitter. “Our teams are working tirelessly to get you what you need.”
But it hasn’t been enough. And many sites were due to close early on Friday and Saturday, the city health department tweeted — leaving virus-conscious locals even more uneasy.
A man firmly holds onto a free at-home COVID-19 test. Getty Images
People were hoping to grab a free at-home COVID-19 test as New Yorkers wait in long lines at private testing sites. Getty Images
NYPD officers were deployed to control the hostile crowd anxious for free COVID-19 tests. Getty ImagesAngry New Yorkers have already been very vocal about delays at the sites, reporting long lines and inconsistent availability — and even price gouging.
Meanwhile, Omicron is raging throughout the Empire State, with 38,835 cases on Thursday alone — shattering the prior day’s record by some 10,000 cases.
NYPD officers attempt to control an anxious crowd waiting for free at-home COVID-19 tests. Getty Images
No injuries have been reported from the crowding incident. Getty ImagesThe NYPD said it did not immediately have any information Friday’s crowd at the Brooklyn site.
