COVID-19 Testing site busy place Thursday

Members of the Clay County Health Department, Indiana State Health Department, along with National Guard personnel help set up the free drive-up nasopharyngeal testing site for COVID-19 at Forest Park Thursday. The testing procedure takes 10-30 minutes to complete, depending upon how busy it is.

IVY JACOBS photo

Clay County Health Department officials confirm 503 residents have been tested as of May 21. That number will go higher when the COVID-19 drive-thru testing site at Forest Park closes Saturday.

Around 2 p.m. Thursday, Clay County Public Health Nurse Kim Hyatt was at the free nasopharyngeal swab testing site at Forest Park. Hyatt said approximately 100 residents had participated in the Indiana State Health Department testing process at that time, and a steady line of cars continued to line up until closing at 6 p.m.

Totals were estimated at around 140-150 for the day, which was considered good. However, health officials are hopeful more people stop by Friday and Saturday.

Clay County Public Health Nurse Kim Hyatt confirmed approximately 100 residents had participated in the Indiana State Health Department testing process Thursday afternoon. The testing site will be open Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m.-6 p.m. No appointments are necessary.

IVY JACOBS photo

The testing site will open at 9 a.m.-6 p.m. No appointments are necessary. All participants must enter Forest Park from State Road 59 entrance and follow signs to the site. Participants will need to present a valid state ID.

The process can be completed in approximately 15-20 minutes when the site is not busy and may take up to 30 minutes if there is a line of vehicles waiting.

Health officials at the scene said people should receive notification of their test results within 3-5 days.

The testing site will be open Friday and Saturday at 9 a.m.-6 p.m. No appointments are necessary. All participants must enter Forest Park from State Road 59 entrance and follow signs to the site.

IVY JACOBS photo

With the official testing site in the area, health officials said the testing will be a "snapshot" of the impact in the area from COVID-19, and they expect Clay County could potentially have an increase in positive cases of COVID-19 within the next two weeks as the results come back from the labs.