The COVID-19 testing site in the Walmart parking lot in Cornelia is open and has availability for conducting more tests.
The test site opened in May. It’s staffed by Walmart healthcare professionals and the test kits are processed by eTrueNorth laboratories. The site can test forty people a day on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday each week from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Weather problems can cause delays and cancellations. To be tested, you must stay in your car and follow CDC guidelines.
If you want to be tested, the process is simple and free. Go online to www.DoINeedaCOVID19test.com and complete the questionnaire to determine if you are eligible for testing. If accepted, register for the day and time, and then print out the form with the test validation number.
For testing, take your printed form and government-issued ID and wear a mask. Drive into the testing site and show your paperwork and ID to the greeter through your raised window. Then, drive to the first station, show your paperwork and ID again, and wait as your testing kit is prepared. Do not lower the car window until directed do so to get the testing kit and then raise it again.
When you have been given the test kit, drive to the second station and use your cellphone to call the number the worker shows you. All directions will be given over the phone. You’ll be directed to put your printed paperwork into the back section of the kit and to take out the tube of water and the swab from your kit.
You’ll then break the seal open on the tube and carefully take out the swab without touching the testing end. You’ll be timed for 15 seconds while you put the swab way up one nostril and circle it around, and then another 15 seconds while you do the same in the other nostril.
Once you’ve placed the swab securely into the tube of water and then the tube into the kit, you’ll turn in your entire kit and be finished.
The process is not particularly pleasant, but it doesn’t hurt. It can briefly cause sneezing and watery eyes afterward. Results are available through eTrueNorth within a few days. Testing is also being conducted in the Walmart parking lot in Oakwood.
The Cornelia Walmart testing site is among five in the state strategically placed in areas of need. Testing also is being conducted in the Walmart parking lot in Oakwood. Other sites are open in Augusta, Milledgeville, and Tifton. As of May 29, Walmart had 187 active sites in 31 states.
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