CLEVELAND — The Ohio Department of Health said registration will no longer be accepted for the Cleveland COVID-19 testing site that just opened Tuesday. 

What You Need To Know

  • The site is slated to be open for the rest of the week until Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., but it will be closed Saturday, Dec. 25

  • The rush is on for testing as people prepare to travel for the holidays and as omicron continues to dominate other strains in the U.S.

  • Many places have already announced they won't be getting any COVID-19 testing kits until after the new year

Health officials said the testing site, located at W.O. Walker Building in University Circle, had more than 1,000 people register on the first day. Before it opened at 9 a.m., lines began forming half an hour before, filling the parking. 

It got so crowded that officials were telling drivers to come back at a later time, and at one point, cut off the line completely.

ODH is encouraging people to find tests elsewhere, such as pharmacies, community health centers and urgent care centers. Health officials urge the public to not go to emergency departments for testing as they are already overwhelmed with patients. 

Many local health departments, hospitals and libraries have already announced they won't be able to get more tests until the new year. Among them include Columbus Public Health, Cleveland Public Library, the South Euclid-Lyndhurst Cuyahoga County Public Library and more. 

President Joe Biden announced Tuesday his administration purchased 500 million COVID-19 at-home tests to be distributed to Americans free-of-charge come January, when the federal government will launch a website to search for the free tests. When launched, people will be able to order tests for free delivery.

The administration is also launching federal testing sites, first being implemented in New York. 

The rush for testing is on as many people look to join families to round out the New Year, and as omicron continues to dominate COVID-19 cases across the country. 

Ohio recorded it's most single-day cases Tuesday since the start of the pandemic. ODH reported 12,505 cases in one day, compared to the previous high of 11,885 new cases reported on Nov. 23, 2020.

The 21-day cases average is now sitting around 8,000. The largest of the outbreak is in northeast Ohio. Cuyahoga County is among the top five counties across the nation for COVID spread with about 700 cases being reported each day — an all-time high for the area. 

Omicron has been causing the uptick, quickly becoming the most dominant COVID-19 strain in the U.S. The World Health Organization marked it as a "variant of concern" on Nov. 26, and earlier this week, health officials reported it made up for 73% of positive tests reported last week. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, around 3,000 COVID-19 tests are conducted each day, and one-third of them are positive. Half of them are omicron cases.

Health officials in each of the largest parts of the state — southern, central and northern Ohio — held press conferences Tuesday urging the public to get vaccinated and get their boosters as the virus continues to spread. According to state officials, 90% of COVID-19 patients who are hospitalized are unvaccinated. Biden also issued a stark warning to the unvaccinated Tuesday.

"The unvaccinated are responsible for their own choices," Biden said, but noted that those choices have been "fueled" by misinformation circulating on social media and cable television.

To find a testing site near you, click here.

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