Drive-Thru Coronavirus Testing Begins At Charlotte Motor Speedway

CHARLOTTE, NC — In a bid to ramp up testing for novel coronavirus, Charlotte metro healthcare provider Atrium Health is partnering with the Charlotte Motor Speedway to provide drive-thru testing for patients in north Mecklenburg and Cabarrus counties.

The news comes as the number of cases in the Charlotte metro area continues to grow exponentially.

The partnership, announced Tuesday, will expand remote coronavirus testing to the zMAX Dragway, located in the Charlotte Motor Speedway complex in Concord, making the track the first sports venue in the U.S. to be used as a remote testing site, Atrium Health said.

The COVID-19 tests involve swabbed samples, which can be obtained from patients while they remain in their vehicles, which reduces the potential for infecting other patients or healthcare workers, Atrium Health said. The samples are then tested at Atrium Health’s lab and patients are typically notified in about 24 hours.

According to Atrium Health, the lab is able to test about 1,000 samples a day.

“Having these types of remote locations, away from a hospital or other care locations, yet convenient for people in need of testing, is essential to helping contain the spread of the coronavirus,” Jim Hunter, MD, senior vice president and chief medical officer, Atrium Health, said in a statement.

“It’s important to note that patients still need to meet the established criteria for testing by a healthcare provider, which will keep other patients and healthcare workers safe, as well as protect our testing supplies,” Hunter said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, there were at least 459 cases and no deaths in North Carolina, according to Johns Hopkins, up from 297 positive cases reported Monday morning.

In Mecklenburg County, the number of cases had nearly doubled in a little over a day, to 142 up from 79 reported on Monday. County health officials said as many as a third of the cases come community spread.

Community spread means the person came in contact with COVID-19 through unknown means and not through travel or by direct contact with someone who has tested positive.

“Every zip code in our county now has a positive case,” Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio said in the town hall Monday. “And what that tells us is we do have community spread.” Since health officials are unable to determine the source of the spread, residents must treat every interaction as a potential source of COVID-19 exposure, she said, The Charlotte Observer reported.

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