Drive-thru COVID-19 testing locations have had few problems with wait times, a state official said. | Stock Photo
Drive-thru COVID-19 testing locations have had few problems with wait times, a state official said. | Stock Photo
Despite concerns of COVID-19, lines at drive-thru testing sites are nearly non-existent, an Illinois state official said.
A report from The News-Gazette on May 27 found that at the Market Place Mall testing location in Champaign, that since it opened on May 19, thousands of fewer than expected individuals have come for a coronavirus test.
Illinois Emergency Management Agency Incident Commander Mark Bichsel told the news agency that wait-times weren't an issue at the clinic at Market Place Mall.
“Most of the time, there’s 20 people or so in line in the mornings, and at lunch, there’s a dozen or so, so there’s no wait at all,” Bichsel told the news agency. “You come up and within a few minutes, you’re in there. It’s very efficient.”
Since the drive-thru clinic it has conducted 1,499 tests, the news agency reported. Bichsel told the news agency it can handle up to 750 tests a day but usually averages around 150. Testing is available every day from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Bichsel urged those who are worried about having the test because it might be uncomfortable to come because, he told the publication, it is an easy test to administer via nasal swab.
“It is not uncomfortable in the least,” he told the publication. “It’s a very easy test to administer. Parents can administer it to their children.”
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