COVID-19 testing will again be available in the parking lot of the Sangamon County Department of Public Health building, at 2833 South Grand Avenue East, on Monday with new hours.
Anyone, including children, with or without symptoms can be screened. There are two slots on weekdays – 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. The site will be closed this Wednesday, July 29.
SIU Medicine, with support from the health department and City of Springfield, is relaunching the site after the Illinois Department of Public Health moved its mobile testing unit to Montgomery County last week.
“As COVID-19 rates increase, medical professionals and organizations like ours are needed to protect the health and safety of our communities,” said Dr. Jerry Kruse, CEO of SIU Medicine, in a news release.
IDPH mobile sites typically set up for a week at a time, but one had been in health department's parking lot since the end of June.
The 7-day average of new cases has been rising since July 8. The positivity rate for the county is also on the rise. Confirmed cases in the county have surpassed 750.
Gail O’Neill, director of the county health department, urged residents who have been around someone with COVID-19 to wait at least four days before getting tested. Testing before that may result in inaccurate results, she said.
“Everybody’s immediate reaction when they hear something is, well I want to go out and get tested and find out if I’m positive,” O’Neill said. “But we want people to wait four to seven days before getting tested. And once you have the test, you need to stay home and be quarantined.”
Testing is also available by appointment at the former Walgreens on North Ninth Street. To schedule an appointment, visit their website .
People experiencing COVID-19 symptoms can get tested at Memorial Respiratory Clinic, at 2950 S. Sixth Street. For appointments, call 217-588-4019. The clinic is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
