Georgia opens more drive-thru coronavirus testing sites. What to know before you go
As the number of coronavirus cases continue to increase across Georgia, state officials are taking the necessary steps to ensure residents have access to COVID-19 testing.
Gov. Brian Kemp on Monday announced the opening of a rapid drive-thru testing site on the campus of Georgia Tech in downtown Atlanta, the latest in over a dozen testing locations now operating across the state. CVS Health will run the new testing site, state officials said, with testing offered by Abbott Laboratories.
At full capacity, the drive-thru will be able to conduct as many as 1,000 tests per day.
“Increased access to rapid testing remains one of our top priorities in order to identify more cases, get Georgians the care they need, and prevent further infection in our communities,” Kemp said in a statement. “This unique, public-private partnership will strengthen our testing capability as we continue to take the fight to COVID-19 in Georgia, and we are grateful for CVS Health’s support to stop the spread of the virus.”
As of Monday morning, numbers from the Georgia Department of Public Health showed there were over 6,700 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus across the Peach State and 219 deaths. Fulton County continues to be the hardest hit with nearly 1,000 diagnoses, followed by Dougherty, Dekalb and Cobb counties.
State officials said coronavirus testing will be conducted in a parking deck on Georgia Tech’s campus, where officials will be able to accommodate multiple lanes of vehicles at a time. Patients can receive their results in as little as 30 minutes, and drive-up testing is available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on the weekend.
Residents can’t simply show up if they’re exhibiting symptoms, however. Rapid testing is available by appointment only, and residents will need to pre-register prior to arriving.
A representative for the governor’s office also told McClatchy News that state testing locations require a referral from a healthcare provider before a patient can be screened for the virus. A message to providers posted to the DPH website adds that, “Due to testing capacity, DPH is only able to test patients meeting certain criteria.”
By mid-March the Peach State had opened at least 13 locations for coronavirus testing, the Associated Press reported. Testing sites have popped up in a handful of communities including Columbus, Valdosta, Dougherty County in southwest Georgia and the metro-Atlanta city of Marietta, where the state’s first drive-up testing site welcomed dozens of residents on March 18.
The site initially wasn’t open to the general public and only received about 50 testing kits that were ultimately offered to those considered “high risk,” Dr. Janet Memark, public health director for Cobb and Douglas Counties, told FOX 5 Atlanta.
“The state is working on increasing that number and capability as we speak so as we ramp up getting testing supplies we can ramp up being able to test more people,” Memark told the station.
The governor’s office said there are now 25 testing sites in the state, including the Georgia Tech/CVS partnership announced Monday.
“Our ability to help coordinate the availability of rapid COVID-19 testing for Georgia citizens will bolster the state’s efforts to manage the spread of the virus and provide people with on-the-spot test results,” Troyen A. Brennan, executive VP and chief medical officer for CVS Health said in statement.
Other Georgia cities offering COVID-19 testing include Rome, Morrow, Covington, Newnan, Warner Robins, Dalton and Savannah.
This story was originally published April 6, 2020 at 11:44 AM.