Wake County Brings No-Cost COVID-19 Testing To Area Parks

Press release from the Wake County Government:

by Stephen R. Walston on 12/11/2020 4:15 PM
Category: Human Services; WakeGOV Home Page

Free, drive-thru testing will run weekly, Monday–Saturday

Wake County is joining forces with the City of Raleigh and surrounding towns to add convenient, no-cost COVID testing in various community parks. Starting Monday, December 14, sections of the parking lots at these parks will host the drive-thru testing for a week at a time at each location.

“We’re literally trying to make testing as pleasant and easy as a walk in the park,” said Eugene Chalwe, Wake County’s COVID-19 Operations Manager. “Thanks to these partnerships with area parks and recreation departments, we’re able to offer new locations right in heart of communities across the county.”

Locations for the week of Dec. 14-19:

• Green Road Park4201 Green Road, Raleigh, NC 27604
• Barwell Road Park5857 Barwell Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610
• Lions Park516 Dennis Ave., Raleigh, NC 27604

At each location, testing will run Monday through Saturday. On Mondays, testing will begin at 11 a.m. and run through 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturday, the public can drive up any time between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. You do not need insurance. No appointment is necessary, although certain locations may ask you to fill out a brief online registration prior to arriving to help move you through the testing more quickly. Check out wakegov.com/testing.

How do we test? Several tents and lanes will be set up in each park and you’ll pull up in your car. We’ll hand you a short swab, and you’ll be asked to circle it around in the lower part of your nose several times. Then, you’ll put the swab in a vial and hand it back to us. It takes seconds.

How do I get my results? You’ll be given a card with information about how to go online or sign up for an email to get your results. Most results are returned within 24-48 hours.

Each week the week-long testing will move to 3 to 4 other parks, rotating throughout the county. We’ll announce those parks soon! Wake County also continues to offer ongoing, no-cost testing sites in Raleigh and Wake Forest. Just wakegov.com/testing for details.

Staying UpdatedVisit Wake County’s multilingual COVID-19 webpage, which has a set of frequently asked questions to educate residents, a list of COVID-19-related closures and service changes, as well as contact information to ask specific questions.Also look for important information on Wake County’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

This press release was produced by the Wake County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.