HARRISBURG, Pa. — Beginning Wednesday, January 20, regional drive-through and indoor walk-in testing clinics will be held in Adams, Carbon, McKean, Snyder, and Washington counties. The counties with testing sites will continue to change weekly over the next six weeks so that 61 counties will eventually be covered by dedicated pop-up testing sites over a 12-week period.
“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,” Dr. Levine said. “In fact, every county now has a positivity-rate greater than five percent, which is alarming. In addition, 14 counties have percent positivity above 20 percent.”
From March through January 14, the department has received 8,219,496 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results, which roughly equates to 64.2 percent of the population. From May through January 14, the department has received 921,595 antigen test results. The total number of tests combined equates to 9,141,085, roughly 71.4 percent of the total Pennsylvania population.
The department extended and expanded its initial contract with AMI to perform pop-up testing in counties across the state. The initial AMI testing and the extension were funded by the federal ELC Enhancing Detection grant.
Director of Testing and Contact Tracing, Michael Huff, added that testing is going well at these sites.
“With the capacity to test up to 450 people per day, these sites are getting thousands of people tested during the course of the days-long site set-ups,” Huff said. “Testing is more important than ever in Pennsylvania and we will continue with a robust testing plan to keep Pennsylvanians safe and identify cases of COVID-19.”
The department believes that increased testing in the counties will assist in determining the prevalence of the virus and assist the county in moving forward. All 67 counties have percent positivity rates above five percent, a concerning trend for health officials. Each county is being monitored as the state continues to examine all available data.
“We are grateful for our tremendous partnership with AMI and participating county entities to provide pop-up testing in five regions across the commonwealth,” Dr. Levine said. “The AMI testing sites will be open to anyone who feels they need a test. It is important that even people with no symptoms who test positive isolate to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Beginning Wednesday, January 20, drive-thru testing clinics will be held to contain the recent rapid increase in COVID-19 cases in the following three counties:
- Adams
- Carbon
- Washington
Testing will be available daily from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM through Sunday, January 24.
The testing site locations and addresses are:
- Adams County: Adams County Emergency Services Department of Emergency Services, 230 Greenamyer Lane, Gettysburg, PA, 17325;
- Carbon County: DCNR Beltzville State Park, 2950 Pohopocco Drive, Lehighton, PA, 18235 – just inside the Main Entrance;
- McKean County: Former St. Bernard School/Bradford Central Christian High School, 450 West Washington Street, Bradford, PA, 16701;
- Snyder County: Selinsgrove State School, 145 Meadow Circle, Selinsgrove, PA, 17870; and
- Washington County: Washington County Fairgrounds and Expo Center, 2151 North Main Street, Washington, PA, 15301.
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 patients. Testing is also open to individuals who are not county residents. Patients must be ages three and older and are not required to show symptoms of COVID-19 in order to be tested. No appointment is necessary. Patients are encouraged to bring a photo-ID or insurance card. Registration will also be completed on-site. The turnaround time for testing results is two to seven days after testing.
For the latest information for individuals, families, businesses and schools, visit “Responding to COVID-19” on pa.gov.