Coronavirus testing to be offered at safe room Monday

Monday will bring another opportunity for those in Starkville and the surrounding area to be tested for COVID-19.

The Oktibbeha County Emergency Management Agency announced on its social media channels Thursday that testing for the novel coronavirus would again be offered at the Oktibbeha County Safe Room located at 985 Lynn Lane on Monday from 10 a.m.2 p.m. The testing will be free.

EMA Director Kristen Campanella said it was the fourth time testing had been offered to the public in Oktibbeha County through the statewide mobile COVID-19 testing program run by the Mississippi State Department of Health and. She said she expected anywhere between 100 and 160 people to be tested based on past numbers.

“We’ve done it twice at the safe room and we’ve done it once at the J.L. King Center, and at all of those we had anywhere from 100 to 150 that had registered,” Campanella

said. “The last one at J.L. King, I believe we had 160 that tested there.”

She said those wanting to be tested would need to be screened first. Only those with symptoms of the novel coronavirus or who have been in contact with someone with the disease will be allowed to be tested.

“It’s not just for Oktibbeha County residents, so anybody can come to this site to get tested,” Campanella said. “They do have to go through the pre-screening, and in that pre-screening, they ask them the questions if they’ve had symptoms or if they’ve been directly exposed to somebody who has tested positive. They have to meet both requirements to be tested.”

A screening can be scheduled by calling 601-496-7200.

“They’ll call, or there’s an online questionere that they’ll go through, and once they get through with either one of those, they’ll get a patient ID number, and they’ll bring that number along with their ID to the site to get tested,” Campanella said.

Testing will also be conducted in Wayne County on the same day.

“I think it’s important to bring the testing here,” Campanella said. “It makes it more convenient for people that want to be tested to get tested at the drive-through site. They don’t have to get out of their vehicle, and this gives us a better idea as far as what we’ve got locally, the case numbers.”