A new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site has been set up in the parking lot of Crossroads Church in Eastgate through Ethos Labs, with the help of the Health Collaborative and the Ohio National Guard.
Crossroads is located at 4450 Eastgate South Dr., next to Jungle Jim’s.
The location, which opened on Jan. 24, is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Tiffany Mattingly, vice president of Clinical Strategies for The Health Collaborative, told The Sun in a follow-up email that the site is equipped to serve up to 1,000 people per day.
A similar site at the Crossroads in Mason was running over 900 per day, but “you’d never know it by looking at the site,” Mattingly said.
“They run a very efficient process, meaning wait times are usually low. Turnaround time for tests is approximately 24 hours,” she added.
Mattingly also said the National Guard are deployed in teams of 10, so the Clermont site has 10 National Guard members, along with the Ethos staff and volunteers as needed.
“It is a pleasure to facilitate accessible, no-cost community testing in collaboration with Ethos Labs and the Ohio National Guard. Ethos Labs flexibility and swift response standing up multiple testing sites across a broad geographic area is providing a vital service, helping keep our communities safe and healthy. The Ohio National Guard continues to tirelessly serve our communities with relentless drive, pride and positivity; without their service, these testing sites would not be possible. The Health Collaborative is grateful to everyone who has dedicated time and resources to ensuring people have access to no-cost COVID testing,” Mattingly said.
A full vetted list of no-cost COVID testing sites is available at: https://healthcollab.org/testandprotect/.
Ethos Labs is doing the viral PCR test, which determines if someone is positive or negative by detecting five gene targets of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, they explained on their website.
The test is done with a nasal swab and results are available within 24-48 hours.
There is no out-of-pocket cost to patients.
Someone ought to get a test for COVID-19 if they have been exposed to COVID-19, or were in close contact with someone who is sick and/or diagnosed with COVID-19, or if they are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
Symptoms associated with COVID-19 are:
– Fever or chills.
– Cough.
– Shortness of breath.
– Fatigue.
– Muscle or body aches.
– Headache.
– New loss of taste or smell.
– Sore throat.
– Congestion or runny nose.
– Nausea or vomiting.
– Diarrhea.
Emergency medical care would be necessary if these symptoms presented:
– Trouble breathing.
– Persistent pain or pressure in the chest.
– New confusion.
– Inability to wake or stay awake.
– Pale, gray or blue-colored skin, lips or nail beds, depending on skin tone.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms usually appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus.
Since there can be some overlap of symptoms with the flu, given both are contagious respiratory illnesses, testing may be needed to confirm a diagnosis of COVID-19, the CDC said.
However, COVID-19 and the flu are caused by different viruses, with COVID-19 spreading more easily and causing more serious illnesses in unvaccinated people. In addition, with COVID-19, it can take longer for people to show symptoms.
Ahead of going to the Crossroads testing site, pre-registration is encouraged.
Please visit https://www.ethos-labs.com/schedule-viral-test/ to get started.
As a reminder, every home in the United States is also eligible for four free at-home COVID-19 rapid antigen tests, shipped within seven-to-12 days. The test gives results within 30 minutes and with no lab drop-off required.
To order the tests via the United States Post Office, please visit https://special.usps.com/testkits.