Georgia's Department of Public Health will shutter its COVID-19 testing site in Hall County Tuesday, but there are additional testing options for residents concerned about the pandemic.
"It was really big during the peak of the COVID surge at the beginning of the year, but has steadily kind of died down throughout the year," said Natasha Young, spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Public Health's District 2. "So we decided altogether that it was best to go ahead and close that site."
According to the latest round of weekly data from the local DPH Hall County, the rest of District 2 is classified as "low community spread."
Testing locations in Forsyth County and Union County will remain open.
Forsyth County - Central Park Recreation Complex
2300 Keith Bridge Rd., Cumming, GA 30040
Union County – Union General Hospital
35 Hospital Road, Blairsville, GA 30512
Young said if there's a significant uptick they would consider reopening the site if there's a need. Still, they mainly want residents to utilize the free at-home testing kits offered by the federal government.
"You can order your at-home test kit by visiting covid.gov/tests or order by phone in English or Spanish by calling 1-800-232-0233. Individuals with impaired hearing who require assistance should call TTY 1-888-720-7489.
Each household will receive:
- 8 rapid antigen COVID-19 tests
- Your order of 8 tests will come in 2 separate packages (4 tests in each package), each with its own tracking number
- Packages will ship free
When to test for COVID-19:
- You have any COVID-19 symptoms, test immediately
- You were exposed to someone with COVID-19, test at least 5 days after your exposure (If you test negative for COVID-19, consider testing again 1 to 2 days after your first test)
- You are going to an indoor event or a gathering, test immediately before the gathering, or as close to the time of the event as possible.
Every household in the U.S. is eligible to order at-home test kits. Order your free COVID-19 test kits at covid.gov/tests today."
