The temporary site was erected Monday morning and is expected to provide testing for up to 250 qualifying individuals each day for the remainder of the week, Tuesday through Friday.
It is only for symptomatic community members who are considered high-risk or essential employees.
That means that to be tested, individuals must be experiencing symptoms including a fever of over 100.4 degrees, a cough, a sore throat and/or shortness of breath, said Yakima Health District spokeswoman Lilian Bravo.
“That’s a requirement: You must be symptomatic. No people who are not symptomatic will be able to be tested at this site,” she said.
Additionally, people must be high-risk — meaning over 60, pregnant or having underlying health conditions — or work in health care, public safety or critical infrastructure like agriculture, grocery stores, restaurants, shelters, gas stations, public utilities, child care or correctional facilities.
The drive-thru site is not intended to replace existing testing resources. The supplies for the facility were provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said Bravo, and are distinct from an additional 1,000 tests received by the county last week.
“This is a huge opportunity. As you know, the testing is really limited everywhere, so being able to have these tests all at one time is a big benefit to the community,” said Bravo. “If anyone is having those symptoms and they’re eligible, we hope that they register.”
Bravo said that while the county hopes to continue such large-scale testing beyond Friday, it is up to the federal government to make the call and provide the testing supplies.
She said Yakima was chosen to receive the services in part due to a disproportionately high case rate compared to other rural counties in the state. The number of cases is expected to spike in the next week due to the increase in testing capacity, she said, adding that this would better help officials understand the rate of infection in the community.
The health district will be overseeing registration for time slots, which are available in 15-minute increments from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday of this week, Bravo said. She said a minimum of 72 people are needed to run the site each day, including at least five bilingual staff.
Local providers and students from Yakima’s Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences will administer the tests, which will then be sent to a commercial lab. Individuals will be contacted by phone when results are available, in roughly three to five days.
The Yakima County Emergency Operations Center is in charge of back-end coordination, while over 50 soldiers from the Washington National Guard and Washington Air National Guard are on the ground directing traffic and overseeing day-to-day coordination.
Capt. Brandon Cheney, who was leading the National Guard soldiers Monday, emphasized that the soldiers are “here to help.”
“We’re here to provide resources and capabilities upon request to local authorities. We’re never here to take over a site,” he said, adding that he was taking direction from the health district and the county emergency operations center.
Cheney said a similar testing facility was launched Monday in Kitsap County.
“This is going to be a huge benefit,” Bravo said of the testing site. “It just continues to show the support that we do have from our federal and state partners that Yakima has been picked for the alternate care site” — anticipated at the former Astria Regional Medical Center — “and to have this drive thru testing.”
Testing at the temporary site is free for those who qualify. Appointments can be made online through the county website or, for those who do not have internet access, by calling 509-574-1919. Bravo said a registration form was being developed for Spanish speakers, and interpretation would be available by phone for non-English speakers.
Two drive-thru lines for testing will be running each day, with one dedicated to those who have appointments and arrive with their appointment number and photo ID, and another in case individuals were unable to make an appointment.
Bravo emphasized that making an appointment will ensure individuals do not wait in line unnecessarily, as 250 tests will be the maximum conducted each day.
Reach Janelle Retka at jretka@yakimaherald.com or on Twitter: @janelleretka
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