Long Island laboratory on the frontlines of the fight against coronavirus

NEW YORK - Northwell Labs in Nassau County is one of New York’s only labs designated to test for coronavirus right now is stepping up its screening capacity. 

“We’re trying to develop as much good quality testing capacity as fast as we can develop it,” said Dwayne Breining, M.D., Director of Northwell Labs. 

The lab has pivoted from using the CDC’s approved coronavirus test to New York State’s test, which can provide results even faster. 

The lab can churn out roughly a dozen CDC tests each day, but the state tests yields hundreds of results in a day, with the expectation that that number will increase to the thousands in the coming weeks.

The lab is processing samples from around Long Island and New York City while also helping the state process its backlog. Officials hope that the more people get tested, the more they can learn about how widespread the coronavirus is and how long it lingers.