WYE MILLS, Md.- Spring classes have moved online at Chesapeake College, but now a new drive through testing center for COVID-19 is open on campus.
The drive through center opened on March 20, and is open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. by doctor referral only.
"It's been very seamless and smooth and very effective and very welcomed by the community as not only by the primary care but also the hospital systems," said Dr. Ciotola, health officer for Queen Anne's County.
Ciotoa said this site has already tested 140 people since opening, and focuses specifically on those more susceptible to contracting the virus.
"The individuals in these testing sites have been evaluated by their primary care providers as high-risk vulnerable or symptomatic and that's why they're being referred
Officials want to make it clear that before you can get in your car and head to one of their testing facilities you need to speak with a primary care physician who will write you a script for the COVID-19 test.
"We request that they send a fax to us with the lab request to do a COVID nasopharyngeal test," Ciotola explained. "They do not get out of their vehicle, they stay in their vehicle, we identify them by their driver's license or ID and identify that they have the order for the appropriate lab request with all of their demographic information. We ask them then to turn off the engine, the swab is taken, they're evaluated, their temperature is taken with a thermal scanning thermometer, recorded on the lab slip, and then we give them their post testing material and then they drive out."
The site serves people who live on the mid-shore, which includes Kent, Talbot, Queen Anne's, Caroline, and Dorchester counties. But doctors worry they could run out of tests soon.
"At this point we have enough to run for probably another week and a half to two weeks. Because of the lack of testing medium has been our biggest challenge we've been able to get some from the Maryland Department of health but that seems to still be the limiting issue of how much we can do," said Ciotola.
"I think that the state is able to try and start producing more viral testing medium, and that would certainly help the lack of supply we are facing. I mean, we've tried to outsource it, we have gotten some testing material from LabCorps they have been an excellent partner in this. We've requested some viral medium from Quest Labs - still waiting to see about that request. Initially we put in a request for 200 testing capability, but yet their still trying to evaluate that from the state aspect." The testing site opens again on Wednesday at 10 a.m.
