Wake County Partnering With Raleigh, Garner To Host COVID-19 Testing In Parks Next Week

Press release from the Wake County Government:

by Leah Holdren on 1/22/2021 12:18 PM
Category: WakeGOV Home Page

As the permanent COVID-19 testing sites
continue to serve thousands of people each day, Wake County is partnering with
Raleigh and Garner to add three new locations at parks starting Monday, Jan 25.

Wake County is collaborating with
municipalities to offer free drive-thru testing at convenient locations in the ZIP
codes seeing the highest rates of infection.

“Testing is key to fighting this virus and protecting our
families,” said Eugene Chalwe, Wake County’s COVID-19 Operations Manager.

“We’re committed to working with municipalities and
community partners to ensure anyone who needs a test can get one no matter
where they live. You don’t even need a car at our drive-thru testing,
you can simply walk up.”

Wake County will offer testing from Monday, Jan. 25, through Sunday,
Jan. 31, at the following parks:

Jaycee Park

2405 Wade Ave., Raleigh

Sertoma Arts Center

1400 W. Millbrook Road, Raleigh

Lake Benson Park

921 Buffaloe Road, Garner

The hours for testing are:

Monday, Jan. 25

11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Tuesday, Jan. 26, through Saturday, Jan. 30

8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 31

11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For the latest
testing times and to see all of our locations, check wakegov.com/testing. Use the “< >” symbols to scroll through the days of
the week.

How do we
test? Several tents and lanes will be set up in each
park and you’ll pull up in your car. Staff will 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.

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 return within
24 - 48 hours.

Testing is available for everyone and especially
recommended for:

· People who have symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness
of breath, nausea or vomiting and loss of smell;

· People who have been a “close contact” to someone with confirmed
or suspected COVID-19 (a case) within the last 14 days;

· People with or without symptoms who are part of an outbreak
response or contact investigation in high risk settings, such as nursing homes,
congregate living facilities, correctional facilities, or persons experiencing
homelessness; and

· People without symptoms who believe they may be currently
infected should consider getting tested (For instance, if in the past 2 weeks
you were around many people who were not wearing face coverings and/or were not
keeping a safe distance).

Testing is not recommended for people who have
already had a positive viral COVID-19 test in the last 90 days and do not
currently have symptoms of COVID-19.

Staying Updated

Visit Wake County’s multilingual COVID-19 webpage, which has a set of frequently asked questions to educate residents,
COVID-19 vaccine
information, as well as contact information to ask
specific questions.

Also look for important information on Wake County’s 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.