Wake County To Launch New COVID-19 Testing Sites In Raleigh This Weekend

Press release from the Wake County Government:

by Leah Holdren on 11/4/2020 10:20 AM
Category: WakeGOV Home Page

Residents
near downtown or southeast Raleigh will soon have an easy way to get tested for
COVID-19. Wake County is partnering with Raleigh Gethsemane Seventh-Day
Adventist Church and Davie Street Presbyterian Church to provide free drive-thru
testing this weekend.

“We
want to make testing easily available in the communities where access may be
limited – such as southeast Raleigh or near downtown,” said Wake County Medical
Director Dr. Kim McDonald. “Partnering with these churches will allow people who need a COVID-19 test to get one conveniently
and safely.”

The
new drive-thru testing sites will run from Saturday, Nov. 7 – Sunday, Nov. 8. Appointments
can be made online in half-hour intervals from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The service is
free, but people must sign up at wakegov.com/testing to secure their spot.

Raleigh
Gethsemane is located at 2525 Sanderford Road in southeast Raleigh. Davie
Street Presbyterian is located at 300 E. Davie St. near downtown Raleigh.

In
addition to testing, Raleigh Gethsemane will be handing out 100 emergency food
boxes (50 on Saturday and 50 on Sunday). They will be distributed on a first-come,
first-served basis to those receiving a test.

Tests are reserved for those
who:

•
Have COVID-like
symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, nausea or vomiting, and
loss of smell;

•
Have been in
close contact with a known positive case of COVID-19;

•
Are healthcare
workers or first responders;

•
Work in high-risk
settings like long-term care facilities, correctional facilities or homeless
shelters;

•
Are 65 years old
or older;

•
Have underlying
health conditions;

•
Are a member of a
vulnerable or historically marginalized population;

•
Have attended a
mass gathering or protest; or

•
Are a frontline
worker in a setting where social distancing is difficult.

Candidates who fit the
criteria for drive-thru testing should visit our website to schedule an appointment. By selecting a specific
30-minute window of time for testing, residents will avoid long lines and help
the process flow smoothly for everyone.

For more information about testing
– as well as an interactive map of testing sites run by our community partners
– visit wakegov.com/testing.

Staying Updated
Wake County has
made it easy for you to stay updated on the latest information about COVID-19.

You
can visit our 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 for people to use to ask specific questions.

The county is also sharing important information on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

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