Politics & Government
New Testing Site At Montco Community College Will Open Thursday
The new location of Montgomery County's coronavirus testing site will open Thursday, with a few important changes. Here's what to know.
WHITPAIN TOWNSHIP, PA — The new location of Montgomery County's coronavirus testing site will open Thursday, with a few important changes.
The site, which replaces the recently closed Temple University-Ambler location, received funding after numerous local U.S. representatives banded together to petition the federal government and decry the withdrawal of support for the previous site (Read more: Funding Withdrawn for Montco Site).
>>>Stay up-to-date on coronavirus developments — sign up for Patch news alerts
Find out what's happening in Lower Gwynedd-Ambler-Whitpainfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The new location, at Montgomery County Community College's campus in Whitpain Township, will officially open on April 16 at 10 a.m. Appointments will be made available for online reservation starting at 8 a.m. that morning here. If you do not have reliable online access, you can also book by calling 610-631-3000.
The biggest change is that the new site will offer self-administered testing, further reducing the exposure of healthcare workers at the site to the virus.
Find out what's happening in Lower Gwynedd-Ambler-Whitpainfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
>>18 More Montgomery County Residents Die From Coronavirus Tuesday
Directions for how to use the swabs will be posted on Montgomery County's site. Individuals simply hold a swab up each nostril for 15 seconds, then place the swabs into a tube for transport back to medical workers. Officials said residents should not have any issues with the self administration.
"It's really very simple, and it's nothing to be worried about," Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said.
>>Montco Launches New Tech To Find Nursing Home Coronavirus Cases
A second change is that residents can now opt to sign up for a waiting list slot, if no appointment slots are available. Arkoosh said there are cancellations every day, and individuals on the waiting list will be called once there is a cancellation.
The county is allotted 251 tests per day by the federal government, and the waiting list will help ensure they use as many of those tests per day as possible.
The new site had been scheduled to open on Wednesday, April 15, but Monday's day of set-up was mostly lost due to the extreme weather.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
