Drive-thru testing site to open Saturday in Montgomery County

Montgomery County officials said a community-based COVID-19 testing site will be operational this weekend in Upper Dublin, initially testing first responders and healthcare officials and later members of the public who meet certain criteria.

On Saturday, at 10 a.m. a drive-thru testing location will open at Temple University’s Ambler Campus in Upper Dublin.

“This site will provide testing by appointment only. There will not be any treatment conducted on site,” county Commissioner Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh said at a news briefing Thursday.

Only individuals meeting one or more of four criteria will be eligible for testing. The criteria are: 1. Fever at or above 100.4 degrees and respiratory symptoms such as cough or shortness of breath; 2. Temperature at or above 99.6 degrees and that person is 65 years of age or older; 3. If you are a first responder, a member of law enforcement, fire, EMS or a dispatcher and you have concern for exposure to a patient with suspected COVID-19 or respiratory symptoms; or 4. You’re a healthcare worker providing direct patient care and testing is not available through your employer.

Due to the limited number of tests available tests will be reserved for the high-risk individuals who meet any of the four criteria, officials said.

“Criteria may be enhanced or relaxed based on future availability of tests,” said Arkoosh, who was joined at the news conference by fellow commissioners Kenneth E. Lawrence Jr. and Joseph C. Gale.

Testing site staff will conduct body temperature verification prior to administering COVID-19 tests. Individuals qualifying under requirements for age, or first responder or healthcare worker status may be asked to provide proper identification and individuals who lack the necessary documentation or who don’t meet one or more of the criteria “will be denied access to testing,” Arkoosh warned.

The testing site will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, by appointment only, as testing supplies allow. Online registration will begin at 8 p.m. Friday, March 20. A link to register will be available at www.montcopa.org/COVID-19 as well as at the county’s official social media accounts.

Individuals who do not have access to the Internet or do not have an email address can call 610-631-3000 beginning Saturday to register for a testing appointment. Appointment times will be generated automatically during the registration process.

“Spots are limited per hour,” Arkoosh said. “Registration

confirmation will be emailed to you and include instructions on what to bring with you for testing, testing site location address and precautions to be taken upon arrival at the site. Each individual must complete a preregistration form. If you arrive at the site and don’t meet the criteria for testing you will be disqualified for testing.”

Only enclosed passenger vehicles and small vans and trucks will be permitted to enter the waiting line. Large commercial vehicles and motorcycles are prohibited as are pedestrians, Arkoosh said.

“Due to the limited number of tests currently available, generally healthy individuals who have mild symptoms and have no underlying medical conditions do not need to be tested at this time,” said Arkoosh, advising those individuals to call their healthcare providers.

Before opening the test site to members of the public who meet the specific criteria on Saturday, the site will be operational on Friday but only for the testing of certain individuals pre-identified by the Montgomery County Office of Public Health.

“There has not been widespread access testing for COVID-19 in Montgomery County. County officials have been working closely with local, state and federal partners to fill this gap and increase testing availability,” Arkoosh said.

“We’re operating in a situation of very scarce resources and we have to allocate those resources on a priority basis. Over time, we are hoping more resources become available and we can test, at some point, individuals who want to be tested. We are not there yet. So we have to use our resources in the way that we believe is the most productive today,” Arkoosh said.

Meanwhile, county officials reported 13 new positive cases of coronavirus, bringing the county’s total number of cases to 55.The county continues to outpace other counties in the state in the number of cases.

The new cases include a 70-year-old Lower Providence woman, a 75-year-old Lower Providence man, a 48-year-old Worcester man, a 34-year-old Lower Providence woman, a 25-year-old Lower Merion woman, a 61-year-old Cheltenham man, a 30-yearold Lower Moreland woman, a 62-year-old Plymouth man, a 77-year-old Worcester man, a 37-year-old East Norriton woman, a 52-year-old Lower Moreland woman, and a 23-year-old Lower Moreland man whose symptoms do not require hospitalization and are currently at home being monitored, Arkoosh said. Another positive case includes a 72-year-old Cheltenham man who is hospitalized.

Arkoosh continued to reinforce the “social distancing and mitigation measures” recommended by health officials to help prevent the spread of the virus.