The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
PEOPLE DRIVE UP FOR VIRUS TESTS
Line of cars arrives before testing begins
A drive-thru test for the novel coronavirus was expected to draw several hundred people in Lorain on Aug. 24.
A line of cars was waiting at the Black River Landing festival site when testing began at 9 a.m., said Stephanie Wiersma, president and CEO of Lorain County Health & Dentistry. The health services agency sponsored the event with the city of Lorain and Ohio National Guard.
She estimated well over a hundred people arrived for the nasal swabbing in the first two hours of the six-hour event.
It was the first drivethru event in Lorain for free, widespread testing for COVID-19.
People are getting tested for a number of reasons, Wiersma said.
Some employers are requiring workers to show negative test results and college students may need proof of a negative test to return to class, she said.
Other people may want the result for purposes of travel or to confirm they are not exposing a family member to coronavirus, Wiersma said.
The process generally took less than five minutes from start to finish. Those who came out for testing also received bags with hand sanitizer, disinfectant and face masks.
Black River Landing was set up with three tent stations set several hundred feet apart.
At the first station, those seeking a test would complete a requisition for the laboratory to process the specimens.
Drivers proceeded to the second station, where Lorain County Health & Dentistry staff verified the patients’ names, addresses, ages and telephone numbers. Those workers handed out the specimen tubes and biomedical storage bags to those seeking tests.
From there, the cars rolled to a third tent station where Army National Guard medics swabbed the noses of drivers and passengers, who remained in their cars.
“They really are the backbone of testing in communities like this,” Wiersma said about the Guard members. “I can’t say enough about them.”
The test results were not instant. The labeled samples were to be shipped to Mako Medical’s lab in North Carolina for processing, with results expected as quickly as 48 hours, said Mako Medical Executive Jonathan Tucker.
He said he did not find the probe objectionable. Some people say it is uncomfortable, but it serves a greater good, Tucker said.
“It’s not fun to be uncomfortable, that’s what most people have said,” Tucker said. “But I would rather be in a little bit of discomfort and really know for sure that I’ve got something that could really do harm in someone else.”
The process generally took less than five minutes from start to finish. Those who came out for testing also received bags with hand sanitizer, disinfectant and face masks.
“That’s really the end of it,” she said. “It’s really efficient.” There also was a check-in tent for people who walked up to the site.
Mako Medical worked with Lorain County Public Health at the drive-thru testing stations last week in Avon Lake. Mako Medical has a presence in 30 states and in the last few months has completed more than 800,000 tests for COVID-19, Tucker said.
The company would have an online portal for people to check their results. Lorain County Health & Dentistry also could provide results and would notify Lorain County Public Health if any positive cases were found.
Wiersma thanked city workers and the Lorain Police Department Auxiliary for assistance.
“They did a lot of work and it’s paying off, it’s extremely efficient,” she said about the traffic flow.
Lorain Safety-Service Director Sanford Washington
said the city workers were happy to help provide the service for residents. He also praised the police auxiliary for their assist so waiting times were short.
By noon, the line of cars was gone, but drivers still were arriving one or two at a time.
Lorain County Public Health worked with two days of drive-thru testing in Avon Lake on Aug. 19 and 20.
“I think that’s probably why we’re not slammed,” Wiersma said. “It’s nice when people have access and have a choice.”
The drive-thru clinic was not meant to provide immediate medical care to people who showed up sick. If anyone was not feeling well, they still could get a test and would be advised to isolate themselves at home and call the primary care doctor while awaiting results.
In June, Lorain County Health & Dentistry sponsored drive-thru testing in
Elyria and completed 697 tests, Wiersma said.
In that event, agency staff had to drive to get extra supplies when it was apparent 500 testing kits would not be enough, Wiersma said.
Lorain County Health & Dentistry offers free curbside COVID-19 testing weekdays at the Lorain headquarters, 1205 Broadway. Testing also is available Wednesdays and Fridays at Elyria City Hall, 131 Court St.
Anyone can become a patient by calling the agency at 440-240-1655 to schedule an appointment for testing. A doctor’s order is required, so people seeking tests will have a telehealth consultation before the COVID-19 test.
Depending on timing, the online consultation and test can happen the same day, Wiersma said. The agency usually reserves 30 appointment times a day and often fills 25 or so, she said.