Want a free COVID-19 test without a swab up your nose?
Want a free COVID-19 test but don’t want to stick a swab up your nose?
Then you’re in luck. Drive-thru, throat-swab testing administered by medical personnel is now being offered at Texas Station, the third public mass testing site in the Las Vegas Valley.
The other two sites, at Cashman Center downtown and UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center, are indoor, walk-up sites where medical personnel will instruct up to three people at a time how to do their own nasal swabs. The difference in accuracy between the swabbing methods is “not clinically significant,” county spokeswoman Stacey Welling said.
The opening of the site at the temporarily closed hotel-casino comes at a time when coronavirus cases are surging in Clark County, Nevada and across the country. Clark County is partnering with the Southern Nevada Health District, Nevada National Guard, University Medical Center, city of North Las Vegas and Station Casinos to open the drive-thru site.
Officials at a press briefing Thursday made a special plea for members of minority communities hard-hit by COVID-19 to be tested at the Rancho Boulevard site that borders North Las Vegas.
“As the largest minority majority city in Nevada, this additional testing is extremely crucial to help to track how COVID-19 is spreading in our community,” North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown said.
The free testing is open to anyone, with or without symptoms, including children.
The site will operate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday. Appointments are not needed but pre-registration with the health district is highly recommended to avoid waiting.
Register online at www.snhd.info/covid-texas. Or text COVID to 844-990-0029 to receive a link to the registration form.
Appointments can be booked at the Cashman Center or UNLV Thomas & Mack sites through UMC’s website at www.umcsn.com. Those without online access may call UMC at 702-383-2619 to schedule appointments. Testing without an appointment is offered at these locations on a limited basis based on availability of staff.
Health officials recommend a COVID-19 test for those with a fever, cough or shortness of breath and those who have been in contact with a confirmed or possible case. Testing also is recommended for those who were in a crowd where social distancing was not maintained and for those planning to visit someone at higher risk for COVID-19, such as those 65 and older or with serious medical conditions.
Contact Mary Hynes at mhynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0336. Follow @MaryHynes1 on Twitter.
