Special to Iredell Free News

The Iredell County Health Department will provide community testing for COVID-19 on Wednesday, May 27, in Statesville and on Thursday, May 28, in Mooresville.

The Statesville site is the parking lot of Yokefellow Thrift Store and Family Dollar at the Southland Shopping Center on Shelton Avenue. The Mooresville site is Mooresville High School.

Testing will take place from 9 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at both sites.

In addition to individuals with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19, testing has been expanded to include the following groups of individuals:

♦ Close contacts of known positive cases, regardless if one is having symptoms or not;
♦ Regardless of symptoms, anyone at higher risk of exposure or at a higher risk for severe disease. Such patient populations are:
♦ Persons who live in or have regular contact with high-risk settings (e.g., long-term care facility, homeless shelter, correctional facility, migrant farmworker camp);
♦ Persons who are at high risk of severe illness (e.g. people over 65 years of age, people of any age with underlying health conditions);
♦ Persons who come from historically marginalized populations (e.g., minority populations, individuals of low socio-economic status, etc.);
♦ Healthcare workers or first responders (e.g. EMS, law enforcement, fire department, military); and
♦ Front-line and essential workers (grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, etc.) in settings where social distancing is difficult to maintain

When you arrive at the testing site, plan to stay in your vehicle the entirety of your visit unless you walk to the community testing site.

After check-in, Iredell County Health Department staff will conduct a throat swab that will be sent to a local lab for testing. Test results will be sent to participants by mail. Those who test positive will be contacted by the Iredell County Health Department Communicable Disease staff, who will provide guidance and identify anyone that you may have been in close contact with recently.

CDC and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services recommend anyone with a positive test — even those who are asymptomatic — to self-isolate for 10 days after the date of the test to prevent potential further infection to others. Those with symptoms should remain isolated at least 10 days since symptoms first appeared and until they have had no fever for at least 72 hours without the use of fever-reducing medications and show an improvement in other symptoms.

Testing is available to both insured and uninsured, with no out-of-pocket expense. Those with health insurance should bring their insurance information with them to the testing site. Language access services will be available at the testing site during hours of operation.

The Iredell County Health Department will not be providing treatment to individuals who have or are suspected to have COVID-19. This community testing site will only be providing testing services. You are encouraged to contact your primary care provider or a medical professional if you feel you need medical care.

Testing will be performed while supplies last. The Iredell County Health Department will continue providing community testing for the foreseeable future. Additional information about future community testing clinics will be made available to the community as soon as plans have been solidified.

LEARN MORE

If you have any questions related to community testing being performed by the Iredell County Health
Department, please contact us at 704-878-5300.

For general information from the Iredell County Health Department about COVID-19, please visit  https://www.co.iredell.nc.us/1383/Coronavirus-COVID-19