LEXINGTON, Ky. – More than 60 cars and a hundred people had been swabbed just two hours into a free walk-up and drive-thru COVID-19 testing clinic Thursday, June 25, at Cardinal Valley Elementary School. 

 


What You Need To Know


  • Lexington launches mobile coronavirus clinic.

  • It allows walk-up and drive-thru testing.

  • Designed to help Hispanic and Black communities

  • Testing taking place through weekend

 

Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton announced a series of free clinics are planned in a Tuesday, June 23, press conference and Thursday’s was the first of three – the second is 2-8 p.m. Friday, June 26, again at Cardinal Valley Elementary School and a third is 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at the Cardinal Valley Park shelter.

The clinics are intended to help deal with the disproportionate increase of cases in the city’s Hispanic and Black communities. 

“Getting people tested is vitally important,” Gorton said in a press release announcing the clinics. “With COVID-19, sometimes there are no symptoms, or it feels like an allergy attack. Some people continue to infect others because they do not know they have the virus. The more people who get tested, the better we know what we have to do to slow the increase.”

Mt. Washington-based Bluewater Diagnostic Laboratory has partnered with the city of Lexington to conduct the clinics, and the results of the tests should be available within 24 hours. People that test negative will be notified via email and those that test positive will receive a phone call. 

“We should test about 200 or 300 people today,” said Bobby Sturgeon, Bluewater managing partner. “The goal of these clinics is to accommodate underserved areas; we want to go to them instead of making them come to us.”

Lexington-Fayette County Commissioner of Health Dr. Kraig Humbaugh said the clinics are the result of an increase in the percentage of COVID-19 cases in people that identify as Hispanic. 

“The Cardinal Valley test sites may make testing more available to this community,” he said. “This is another opportunity for people to be tested for COVID-19 in a location that could be more convenient to where they live and work.”

One Cardinal Valley-area resident walked nearly a mile to the testing site. She said she does not drive or use public transportation, so the mobile testing site at the elementary school allowed her to get tested.

Face masks will be provided to those being tested while supplies last and a Spanish-speaking translator will be on site.

Drive-thru testing is also available seven days a week at the Walgreen’s testing location at 2296 Executive Drive (the corner of Winchester Road and Executive Drive). Tests will continue for approximately two weeks, or until the test kits have been depleted. Online registration is recommended, but not required.

Another drive-thru testing location is available through July at the Kroger Health testing site at Bluegrass Community & Technical College Newtown Campus at 500 Newtown Pike. The testing entrance is located off Loudon Avenue near the intersection with Newtown Pike. Testing is available by appointment, and appointments are available Monday through Friday.

Spectrum News 1 has a list of all the available testing sites listed on our home page, just look for the tab that says "Testing Sites."