Meet the COVID testers who've swabbed 150,000 noses in NYC since pandemic began

On March 1, 2020, city health officials reported the first known case of COVID-19 in New York state. The weeks that followed changed many New Yorkers’ lives.

Maria Gennaro lost her job at a radiology clinic. Heidi Poulakos switched to Zoom to finish up her final semester of nursing school. Jen Lovallo was stuck in her Park Slope apartment, trying to figure out how to make her groceries last another week.

Two years later, they all work at New York City Health + Hospitals’ Bay Ridge testing site, along with 32 other staff members — checking in patients, swabbing noses, processing the results and making sure the whole operation runs smoothly. They’ve worked through surges, slow periods, personal milestones and devastating losses. Together, they’ve conducted more than 150,000 tests since the site opened in May 2020.

As they move toward a third year on the frontlines, these veteran COVID testers are reflecting on how the pandemic uprooted their lives and brought them together. Gothamist visited the longstanding site to hear about what they’ve learned and their hopes for the future.

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