GREENSBORO, N.C. — A new mass COVID-19 testing site is open at Piedmont Hall in Greensboro. Local officials hope the site will spread out access to testing and help with the increased demand for COVID tests.
"I know that there has been a lot of need for testing," said Iulia Vann, Public Health Director for Guilford County. "I know the testing vendors and the testing sites have really been stretched to the maximum to be able to offer as much testing as possible"
The Piedmont Hall location is a partnership between the Guilford County Division of Public Health, Cone Health, the City of Greensboro, and MAKO Medical. It opened on Saturday.
"This partnership with MAKO Medical, Cone Health, and the City of Greensboro is an encouraging and positive development towards meeting the needs of our community, and ultimately decreasing the spread of COVID-19.” Dr. Mary Jo Cagle, Cone Health CEO said, “This partnership will play an important role in slowing the spread of COVID-19 as cases continue to surge in our region and reducing the strain on our emergency departments."
University of North Carolina-Greensboro student Chandler Reed was tested Saturday at the location after having trouble finding a test.
"As a college student we have to have a COVID test to be able to get it back into our dorms since the omicron variant is out," Reed said. "I couldn’t find (a test) anywhere else. CVS, Walgreens literally nowhere and I was so scared I wasn’t gonna be able to go back to class it starts Monday."
Reed said the process was easy and she expects to get her results in 24 to 48 hours.
"Everything is really quick," Reed said. "It’s a big space so it’s spaced out. It doesn’t feel too crowded so the lines don’t feel too long and I feel like it’s very great. They have a lot of help which makes it go by faster."
There are no timed appointments but officials recommend you pre-register your information. You can register while on-site, but officials warn it could slow things down.
"If you have to add your information in (the) system and five other people behind you have to add their information in the system at the same time, that is automatically going to slow the process," said Dr. Vann.
Cone Health officials saif the site can do 1000 to 1500 tests daily. The hospital has also increased its testing capacity by more than 300% to 6000 tests in the coming week. Hospitals across the Triad continue to remind the public to not go to the emergency room just for a COVID-19 test.
Testing hours:
Monday – Friday: 10 AM – 7 PM
Saturday – Sunday: 8 AM -5 PM