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Potter County will have a drive-thru COVID-19 testing clinic beginning Sunday at the Coudersport Area High School.
The clinic is through a Pennsylvania Department of Health contract with AMI. Three drive-thru testing sites will be set up, one in Coudersport, one in Beaver County and one in Schuylkill County, with the goal to contain the recent rapid increase in COVID-19 in those counties.
Testing at these sites will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Dec. 31.
“The AMI testing sites will be open to anyone who feels they need a test,” said Dr. Rachel Levine, secretary of health. “It is important that even people with no symptoms who test positive isolate to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
The counties with testing sites will change each week over the next nine weeks so that 61 counties will eventually be covered by dedicated pop-up testing sites over a 12-week period.
“Over the past several weeks, we have seen a rapid increase of positive case counts reaching record-high levels, which gives us significant cause for concern,” Levine said. “In fact, every county now has a positivity-rate greater than five percent, which is alarming. In addition, 19 counties have percent positivity above 20 percent.”
The department believes that increased testing in the counties will assist in determining the prevalence of the virus and assist the county in moving forward. Each county is being monitored as the state continues to examine all available data.
According to the health department, up to 450 patients can be tested per day. Mid-nasal passage swab PCR tests will be performed. Testing is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is completely free to all patients. Patients must be ages three and older and are not required to show symptoms of COVID-19 in order to be tested. No appointment is necessary. Patients are encouraged to bring a photo-ID or insurance card. Registration will also be completed on-site. The turnaround time for testing results is two to seven days after testing.
Individuals who are tested should self-quarantine while they await test results. Individuals who live with other people should self-quarantine in a private room and use a private bathroom if possible. Others living in the home with the individual awaiting test results should also stay at home.
Individuals who test positive will receive a phone call from AMI while individuals who test negative will receive a secured-PDF emailed to them from AMI.
