Pennsylvania Department of Health officials have announced a free COVID-19 testing site in Monroe County as the rate of new statewide cases remains steady.
The site is being made available through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare. Testing will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., starting Monday, through Friday at Middle Smithfield Township Cultural Center, 147 Municipal Drive, in East Stroudsburg.
The facility is an indoor, walk-in site with up to 450 people who can be tested daily. Mid-nasal passage swab PCR tests will be performed. Testing is on a first-come, first-serve basis with no appointment necessary.
Acting Secretary of Health Alison Beam said in a statement Pennsylvanians continue to be infected with COVID-19. Last week, the rate of new COVID-19 cases in Pennsylvania continued its steady increase. The state Department of Health reported 557 new coronavirus cases on Friday --the fourth straight day with more than 500 case reports.
The Lehigh Valley also is not immune: Lehigh and Northampton counties each saw between 15 and 20 cases a day on average in recent weeks; the rate was in the single digits two weeks ago. Northampton County’s 35 reported cases this past Tuesday were the most seen in a day in either county since May.
“This reinforces the consistent need for accessible COVID-19 testing across the state,” Beam added. “We encourage anyone who feels they need or want a test, especially if they think they have been exposed to COVID-19, to take advantage of the free COVID-19 testing clinics closest to them.”
AMI testing sites will be made open to anyone who feels they need a test. It is important that even people with no symptoms and who have tested positive isolate in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19, state health officials said.
Individuals who are tested should self-quarantine while they await their test results. Those who test positive for COVID-19 will receive a phone call from AMI while those who test negative will receive a secured-PDF emailed to them from AMI.
Additional AMI COVID-19 testing sites currently are operating Tuesday through Saturday in Centre County through July 31 and Greene County and Mercer County Welcome Centers through Aug. 21. The final AMI site currently operating Monday through Thursday in Northampton County will be open through July 29.
The following is the list of locations and hours for those sites:
- Testing in Centre County is available at Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority Interpretive Center, 253 Transfer Road, in Bellefonte from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Testing at Greene County Welcome Center is available at I-79 north, in Mount Morris, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Testing at the Mercer County Welcome Center site is available at I-80 east, in West Middlesex, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
- Testing in Northampton County is available at Paxinosa Elementary School, 1221 Northampton St., in Easton from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Additionally, state residents can find testing sites in their area on the locator map here.
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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann may be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.