According to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene,
Everyone should get tested:
- Immediately if you have symptoms of COVID-19.
- Five days after having close contact (being within 6 feet for at least 15 minutes over a 24-hour period) with someone while they had COVID-19.
- Before and after travel or attending a gathering, especially if you or others are not vaccinated or up to date with your vaccine shots, or are at risk of severe COVID-19.
People who are vaccinated should still get tested. The COVID-19 vaccines cannot cause you to test positive.
Retesting After a Positive Diagnostic Test
If you recently recovered from COVID-19, you generally should not get retested for COVID-19 for three months after your symptoms began of, if you had no symptoms, from the date you were tested, unless you develop new symptoms.
With molecular tests, such as PCR tests, you may continue to test positive for COVID-19, even though you are no longer contagious. If you develop new symptoms, talk to your health care provider.
Find a Testing Site
There are many health care providers, pharmacies and government facilities, including mobile and pop-up testing sites, offering testing — often free — throughout the city.
Here are some resources to help you find a location near you:
- COVID-19 Citywide Information Portal: Testing Locations: Search a map of all testing locations, including some that may not be free.
- COVID-19: Express Testing: Schedule an appointment at one of the Health Department’s free Express testing locations, which usually return test results within a few hours.
- NYC Health + Hospitals Testing Sites: These locations offer free testing, including some sites that will test children 2 years old and younger.
When you go for a test, you will not be asked about immigration status.
At-home Testing
Most at-home tests allow you to test the sample yourself and get results in minutes. Some tests have you collect a nasal or saliva sample and send it to a laboratory.
Be sure to carefully read and closely follow the manufacturer’s instructions. You can also watch the below online instructional videos provided by the manufacturers before taking the test.
At-home testing may be less accurate than tests performed by a health care provider. In some cases, you should go to a provider for a test to confirm your initial results.
Note: At-home test results may not be accepted for some purposes, such as school, employer or travel testing requirements.
After a Positive Test
If you test positive for COVID-19, immediately separate yourself from others and contact your health care provider, who can talk to you about how best to manage the infection.
If you do not have a provider, call 212-COVID19 (212-268-4319).
For more information on what to do after you test positive, including possible treatment options, see COVID-19: When You Are Sick.
Source: NYC DOHMH. For the full information, please click here https://www1.nyc.gov/site/doh/covid/covid-19-testing.page
