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Department of Health Adds Testing Site in Northumberland County to Help Contain Local Spread of COVID-19

10/15/2020

Harrisburg, PA - Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine today announced beginning Friday, October 16, an outdoor testing clinic will be held in the lower parking lot at POLAR TECH in Ralpho Township, Northumberland County to contain the recent rapid increase in COVID-19 cases.

“Since the beginning of September, we have seen an increase of 598 cases in Northumberland County, which gives us significant cause for concern,” Dr. Levine said. “This testing site will be open to anyone who feels they need a test. It is important that even people with no symptoms who test positive isolate to stop the spread of COVID-19.”

The department has signed a contract with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare (AMI) to provide testing in communities in need across Pennsylvania. AMI has already deployed to Centre, Columbia, Indiana and Berks counties to perform community testing.

The department decides which counties to deploy testing based on the total number of confirmed cases in the last 14 days per 100,000 people as well as where outbreaks are happening, county population, and other metrics.

This week, Northumberland has the highest percent-positivity in the state at 8.6 percent. This is down from a percent-positivity of 9.2 percent the previous week. The department believes that increased testing in the county will assist in determining the prevalence of the virus and assist the county in moving forward. Other concerning counties, identified as those with percent positives above five percent, can be found on the Early Warning Monitoring Dashboard. Each county is being monitored and observed as the state continues to examine all available data.

The schedule for testing is 7:00 AM to 6:00 PM on:

  • Friday, October 16;
  • Saturday, October 17;
  • Sunday, October 18;
  • Monday, October 19; and
  • Tuesday, October 20.

The address for Northumberland County testing is POLAR TECH, 1017 West Valley Avenue, Elysburg, PA, 17824.

Up to 440 patients can be tested per day. Testing is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is at no cost to those being tested. Patients are not required to show symptoms of COVID-19 in order to be tested. No appointment is necessary, but patients should bring a photo-ID or insurance card. Registration will also be completed on-site. The turnaround time for testing results is two to seven days after testing.

Individuals who are tested should self-isolate while they await test results. For those individuals who live with other people, they should self-isolate in a private room and use a private bathroom if possible. Others living in the home with the individual awaiting test results should also stay at home. The department has additional instructions for individuals waiting for a COVID-19 test result.

For the latest information for individuals, families, businesses and schools, visit “Responding to COVID-19” on pa.gov.

MEDIA CONTACT: Nate Wardle - 717-787-1783

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