The free testing station for individuals without COVID-19 symptoms but who what to get tested because they had recently traveled or just for peace of mind has moved from the airport to the hospital.
“It’s more efficient here, we’re able to utilize our staff and resources,” said Alicia Gillen, COVID-19 screening manager for SEARHC, which operates the Wrangell Medical Center and ran the airport testing site.
It also will be warmer at the trailer in the far corner of the hospital parking lot than outside the airport terminal as winter weather sets in.
The testing site will be open noon to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday, Gillen said. Appointments are not required.
SEARHC provides the free testing service under a contract with the state, which runs through Dec. 31, and which may be extended into 2022, Gillen said.
Individuals with COVID symptoms, or who have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the Coronavirus, should call the Wrangell Medical Center at 874-7000 to schedule an appointment, she said.
Testing numbers at the airport site, which shut down after work on Sunday for Monday’s move to the hospital, had been on the increase the past six weeks, Gillen said. Last week, staff administered 53 tests, almost half for high school sports teams.
After declining testing numbers in June and July, SEARHC administered almost 1,000 tests in Wrangell in August, when the community suffered its worst COVID outbreak of the pandemic with 48 new cases. That count represents testing both at the airport and the hospital.
SEARHC has administered more than 18,000 tests in Wrangell since March 2020. As of Monday, the community had reported 141 infections during the pandemic.
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