HCMH offers symptomatic drive-thru testing option

Individuals looking for Symptomatic COVID-19 testing will have a convenient new option beginning Monday, Sept. 20, when Humboldt County Memorial Hospital (HCMH) opens a new symptomatic drive-thru COVID-19 testing site.
The new drive-thru testing site will be located in the new HCMH Ambulance Garage off 15th Street and will be accepting symptomatic patients by appointment only. Patients will need to call (515) 332-4200 to schedule an appointment.
The symptomatic drive-thru COVID-19 testing site will be open Monday-Friday from 9–11 a.m. Upon arrival, patients will need to pull into the ambulance garage from the west, complete the registration process and be tested.
Patients will be tested using two swabs. The first is a rapid antigen test that will be resulted in approximately 15 minutes. If the results come back positive, you have COVID-19 and need to isolate for 10 days.
If the rapid test returns negative, nurses be sending the second swab out for a confirmatory result. These results will take 24-72 hours to obtain a result. Patients who test negative with the rapid test, will be recommended to self-isolate until they receive their PCR (2nd) test results.
HCMH also offers asymptomatic COVID-19 testing Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. No appointment is required. Patients will need to enter in HCMH’s main entrance, stop at the HCMH registration desk to be registered and screened for COVID-19, including temperature, prior to testing.
All patients will be required to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
People who are needing to be tested to travel, please call (515) 332-4200 before arriving. Different countries are requiring different COVID-19 tests and HCMH wants to ensure you are receiving the appropriate type of test.
If you are experiencing any of these COVID-19 symptoms; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fever or chills, cough, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestions or runny nose, nausea or vomiting or diarrhea please make an appointment with the symptomatic drive-thru COVID-19 testing site or contact your primary healthcare provider. If you need emergency care, please call 911 or visit your local emergency room.
“We would like to thank our community for having patience with us once again as we get this new site up and running. We are feeling the need and want to be here for you.” HCMH CEO Michelle Sleiter said.
Please visit www.humboldthospital.org for details or call (515) 332-4200.
Appointments continue to be available with your primary care provider at UnityPoint Clinic Humboldt Monday-Friday 8 a.m.–5 p.m. and at the HCMH Walk-In Clinic on Fridays from 3–7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.–2 p.m.

Humboldt County COVID-19 Statistics
As of September 16, there have been a total of 1,497 positive cases of COVID-19 in Humboldt County.
From Sept. 7 — Sept. 16, there have been 88 new cases of COVID-19 in the county.
Of those 88 cases, 82 percent were unvaccinated.
The breakdown by age groups is as follows: 21 are age 0-17, 26 are age 18-40, 27 are age 41-60, 12 are age 61-80 and 2 are age 81+.