By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
SEARHC* announced today that drive-through testing for the COVID-19 virus will be available starting noon Thursday – but don’t just drive up and expect to be tested, SEARHC officials said today.
The first step is making a call to the SEARHC hotline 966-8799, or your primary care provider, for a referral to the drive-through, if testing is recommended.
The off-site testing will be available noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday in a temporary facility in the parking lot of the Mountainside Family Clinic, at 209 Moller Avenue (next to the old Sitka Community Hospital).
SEARHC said dozens of tests have been given throughout the Southeast Alaska area that it serves, but with no confirmed cases of the coronavirus detected. SEARHC did not have a figure available for the number of tests given in Sitka to date.
SEARHC also has testing sites in Wrangell, Juneau, Haines and Klawock, said SEARHC communications director Maegan Bosak.
She said there are criteria for determining whether it’s appropriate to test for COVID-19. About 1,300 test kits are available with more coming in every day, she said.
Those at home who want to be tested or believe they should be tested are asked to call 966-8799, and answer a series of questions in line with CDC protocol. Medical professionals will decide whether testing is warranted or whether self-isolation at home is appropriate, Bosak said.
“You can stay in your car and limit exposure” during the test, which consists of taking samples with nasal swabs. Results generally take 48 to 72 hours.
Other COVID-19 News
SEARHC today canceled routine dental procedures through April 1 at its dental clinic in the Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, though dental emergencies will be treated.
Medical authorities continued today to emphasize prevention by following CDC recommendations of frequent hand washing, staying home when sick, covering sneezes and coughs, not touching your face, wiping down and disinfecting surfaces, and self-isolating.
The state issued two new COVID-19 mandates on Tuesday. (See related story, this page.)
The number of confirmed cases in the state went from three on Monday to six on Tuesday. Two were in Anchorage, three in Fairbanks and one in Ketchikan, the state Department of Health and Social Services said on its COVID-19 webpage.
“They are travel-associated cases of COVID-19, not cases of community-acquired infections,” the department said.
In all, 406 tests have been negative in the state since Jan. 1, DHSS said.
The covid19.searhc.org webpage has information and links to state and federal websites.
*SEARHC is the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, a non-profit health consortium which provides healthcare services to residents in 19 communities in Southeast. In Sitka, SEARHC operates Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, Mountainside Family Clinic, Mountainside Rehabilitation Clinic, Mountainside Urgent Care, and provides dental, eye and mental health services.
