Over 10K At-Home Covid Test Kits From Suffolk County Distributed to Smithtown's Vulnerable Population to Ensure a Safe Return to Normalcy
County and Town officials joined together with not-for-profits and community organizations at the Smithtown Senior Center on Friday morning to announce the distribution of over 10,000 at-home Covid Test Kits to seniors and other vulnerable populations across the Town. On Friday, February 25th, County Executive Bellone hosted a press conference at the Smithtown Senior Center to announce major distribution events, such as the Smithtown allotment, throughout the municipalities, Suffolk County Police Department, community groups, not-for-profits and other local entities who engage daily with vulnerable populations across the County. After the announcement, Supervisor Wehrheim and Center Director Doreen Perrino gave the County Executive a tour of the facility, meeting with residents and handing out bags filled with KN95 face masks and At-Home Covid Test Kits. Special guest visitors Bono, Jay and Chi Chi from America’s Vet Dogs stole the attention of the entire crowd while they socialized with community members, prior to weekly Bingo.
“It is our hope that we’re at the light at the end of the tunnel with regards to Covid-19. People need to get back to living again, enjoying life again and finding some sense of normalcy, which we’ve been robbed of for the last two years… There is no question that our seniors and individuals living on a fixed income are feeling the economic burden of the pandemic and inflation. Thanks to Suffolk County, we can ease some of that burden by distributing these supplies to local assisted living homes, faith based organizations, food pantries, and community centers. Now families can visit loved ones in nursing homes with easy access to at-home test kits. Our elder citizens can come back to our great Senior Center and enjoy socializing with friends again. Most importantly, we can get back to really living again, safely and well equipped to handle whatever the future has in store.” - Supervisor Ed Wehrheim
The Town of Smithtown collected over 10,000 At-Home Covid-19 test kits and 500 KN95 face masks from Suffolk County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services on Friday. All of the supplies were then delivered by the Town’s Parks Department to local nursing homes, assisted living facilities, faith based and local food pantries, community centers and places of worship across the seven hamlets throughout the Township.
“This is the time we begin to transition back to normal, to the stage where we are living with the virus. Essentially the Endemic stage of the virus… As we transition to living with this virus, there are a number of things we need to do and one of those things is continue to focus on protecting vulnerable populations by making sure they have the things they need easily accessible to them.” - County Executive Steve Bellone
An additional supply of over 2,500 test kits has been made available for a second distribution event to be held in mid March at the Senior Center. The date and time of the second event will be announced via the Town of Smithtown Mobile App and through the local media in the week ahead. The Town of Smithtown Mobile App is available for free on Google Play and the App Store.