COVID-19 tests for up to 60K workers will be available next week

Employees of some of Southern Nevada’s largest companies, including casino workers, will be able to be tested for COVID-19 next week.

Danita Cohen, a spokeswoman for University Medical Center, said Friday that upward of 60,000 tests for the virus would be administered at the Las Vegas Convention Center beginning sometime next week.

Cohen said more details on what companies have contracted with UMC for testing, when testing would start, an explanation of the process, and where precisely testing would occur on the Convention Center campus would be disclosed Monday.

Ten drive-thru testing sites at Wal-Mart stores across the state are scheduled to begin Monday. Las Vegas Valley officials have pressed to increase coronavirus testing, and sites have opened at The Orleans and at the Aquarius in Laughlin.

Cohen said that “the big companies in town” are contracting for testing, including some large casino operators and Zappos.com, a Las Vegas-based online shoe and clothing retailer.

Late last month, Wynn Resorts Ltd. announced it had contracted with UMC for testing of employees.

Orleans expands testing

At The Orleans, drive-thru COVID-19 testing capacity has expanded to 1,200 appointments per day, according to UMC and Clark County.

Testing is available for everyone 18 and older, regardless of whether they have symptoms of COVID-19. Appointments are available seven days a week, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.

All community members who register for drive-thru COVID-19 testing appointments at The Orleans, including uninsured patients, will receive tests at no out-of-pocket cost.

Community members can make appointments by visiting the COVID-19 Testing Center on the home page of UMC’s website at www.umcsn.com. Select the “public” option to arrive at the online testing registration form. After filling out the form and clicking “submit,” UMC will call to book an appointment. Appointments also can be made by calling Clinical Pathology Laboratories at (702) 795-4932, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Appointments are required for testing at this location.

The testing site is on the first floor of the parking garage located on the west side of The Orleans property off Cameron Street. Patients should arrive 15 minutes early for their appointments. The Orleans is located at 4500 W. Tropicana Ave.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Mary Hynes contributed to this report.