Friday, May 7, 2021
Vol. 81, No. 19
$1
SERVING PLAINVIEW, HICKSVILLE, AND LEVITTOWN
GRAND REOPENING
New saliva-based Covid testing center opens in Hicksville BY GARY SIMEONE
Local officials and owners of the Levittown Laser Bounce were on hand to welcome it back. The business had been closed since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 The Levittown Chamber of Commerce was joined by local elected officials for the reopening of Laser Bounce on March 26 in Levittown. Laser Bounce has been closed since March 2020 due to the pandemic. The second-generation family owned business spent close to $100,000 retrofitting their gaming facility to make it safe. Laser Bounce offers entertainment for all ages with laser tag, arcade, parties and much more. Stop in and support a local business trying to get back
on their feet. Laser Bounce is located at 2710 Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown with plenty of parking. Attending the grand reopening were: Beth Dalton-Costello – Dalton Funeral Homes; TOH Town Clerk Kate Murray; Nassau County Legislator John Ferretti; Joe D’Amico – co-owner of Laser Bounce with Ryan D’Amico; Alex Nerette – general manager of Laser Bounce; Councilman Dennis Dunne Sr.; Michael Levy – Levittown Chamber of Commerce pres-
ident & owner of Minuteman Press of Levittown; Lindsay Ekizian – community affairs coordinator from Congressman Andrew Garbarino’s Office; Kendra Armstead – Office of the Nassau County Executive; Don Patane – Main Street Financial Group; Louise Cassano – LuCas Communications; Jon Michael Probstein, Esq.; New York State Senator Kevin Thomas; Gary Tarlov – Cruise Planners – Embark Nation LLC; and Assemblyman John Mikulin
The Mid-Island Times & Levittown Times is Published every Friday by Litmor Publishing Corp. Periodical Postage paid at Hicksville, N.Y. 11801 Tel 931-0012. USPS 3467-68 Postmaster: Send Address Changes to: The Mid Island & Levittown Times 821 Franklin Ave., Suite 208, Garden City, N.Y. 11530. Meg Norris Publisher
Town of Oyster Bay residents will have an easier time testing for the COVID-19 virus after a saliva-based testing center recently opened in Hicksville. Faculty members and students of many of the Town’s school districts will be eligible for the test which will be administered at the Hicksville Community Center. “We have a new partnership between the Town of Oyster Bay and ProPhase Labs to administer a new, noninvasive, saliva-based viral multiplex test that is 99.7% effective in detecting the COVID virus,” said Town Supervisor Joe Saladino. “This is a first of its kind. This new saliva-based test is proven to detect and quickly identify COVID-19 and any of the seventeen viral mutations of the disease.” He said that the Town immediately ordered this free testing access to local school districts, including students their families, and school faculty members and employees. Ted Karkus, CEO of ProPhase Labs, said that Town had issued a competitively bid RFP for labs to provide COVID-based testing within the Township. “I’m not sure there is any one specific reason that we outbid other labs, but possibly because ProPhase Labs offers some of the fastest turnaround time for PCR
testing,” said Karkus. He also pointed out that his company provides services such as telemedicine for patients, reporting of results to people’s smartphones, state-of-the-art lab processing equipment and antigen testing. He said that the saliva-based testing method is easier to use on patients then the traditional nasopharyngeal swabs. “We’ve found that patients would prefer not to have a swab stuck way up their nasal passages, because that is experience is quite uncomfortable,” said Karkus. “With saliva, you do not have the same human collection error as you would with a swab. We’ve also found that the results are 99.7% reliable for sensitivity and specificity, which is gold standard in PCR Covid testing.” Saladino said that in the coming weeks, he anticipates the expansion of testing access services to the general public and Town departments. “We would like all our residents to be accommodated and we’re going to expand this testing, offering free of charge testing to villages, fire districts and a multitude of other government agencies. By working together, we know that we can overcome this disease and bring a sense of normalcy back into our lives.”
Hicksville schools: Woodland Elementary PAGE 16 Water district completes treatment plant PAGE 12