PA Health Officials Bringing Pop-Up Coronavirus Testing To Delco

MARPLE TOWNSHIP, PA — The Pennsylvania Department of Health recently announced a five-day long popup coronavirus testing site in Delaware County.

Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine Wednesday announced a drive-thru and indoor walk-in testing clinic will be open from Thursday to Monday in Media.

Testing will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. starting at Delaware County Community College, 901 South Media Line Road in Media.

Up to 450 patients can be tested per day.

Mid-nasal passage swab PCR tests will be performed.

Testing is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is completely free to all.

Those getting tested must be three years or and older and are not required to show coronavirus symptoms to be tested. Appointments are not necessary.

Patients are encouraged to bring a photo-ID or insurance card. Registration will also be completed on site.

Test results will be returned in two to seven days.

Individuals who get tested should self-quarantine as they await test results. Those who live with other people should self-quarantine in a private room and use a private bathroom if possible. Others living in the home with the individual awaiting test results should also stay at home.

See additional instructions from the state for individuals waiting for a coronavirus test result here.

Individuals who test positive will receive a phone call from AMI Expeditionary Healthcare, which will be conducting the testing, while individuals who test negative will receive a secured-PDF emailed to them from AMI.

"Over the past several weeks, we have seen a rapid increase of positive case counts reaching record-high levels, which gives us significant cause for concern," Levine said. "In fact, every county now has a positivity-rate greater than five percent, which is alarming. In addition, nine counties have percent positivity above 20 percent."

From March through Dec. 7, the Pennsylvania Department of Health has received 6,114,009 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results which roughly equates to 47.7 percent of the population. From May through Dec. 7, the department has received 358,228 antigen test results. The total number of tests combined, 6,472,237, roughly equates to 50.5 percent of the state's population.

State health officials believe increased testing will assist in determining the prevalence of the virus and assist the county in moving forward.