Cabarrus Health Alliance (CHA), Cabarrus County’s public health authority, is now offering on-site drive-through COVID-19 testing. CHA began testing at the Kannapolis location last week. Testing is available Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, by appointment only.
CHA’s Testing Process
The process for COVID-19 at CHA is simple. If an individual believes they need to be tested, they would call the CHA Health Info line at 704-920-1213. Call center nurses will conduct a screening to determine if they meet the criteria for testing based on symptoms, risk, and exposure. If they are eligible, the nurses will schedule an appointment and provide detailed instructions on where to enter the parking lot for drive-through testing.
If eligible for testing, insurance information will be requested, but not required. Regardless of insurance coverage, there will be no out of pocket expense for COVID-19 testing at CHA. Individuals will be notified by CHA clinical staff when their test results come back.
Community Testing Matters
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) issued new guidance expanding criteria for testing—allowing for anyone with symptoms, close contacts of positive cases regardless of symptoms, and those at higher risk of exposure or higher risk of severe disease—to be tested.
Increased testing is an important strategy to allow for the appropriate easing of certain COVID-19 restrictions at both the state and local level. “Community testing is a metric that we are watching closely. Accessibility of tests is crucial to control the spread of the virus so that those infected can isolate until they can no longer spread COVID-19,” said Dr. Bonnie Coyle, Health Director and CEO at CHA. “The caveat is that the more testing we do, the more positive cases we will have,” she continued. “The goal is to keep the percent positive at 10% or less as community testing expands.”
Atrium Cabarrus, Novant Health, and the Cabarrus Rowan Community Health Center also provide COVID-19 testing for Cabarrus County residents.
CHA reminds all Cabarrus County residents to continue social distancing, wearing a mask when in public, washing hands or using sanitizer regularly, and seeking medical care if you have symptoms of fever (100.4 or higher), cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, or new loss of taste or smell. If you exhibit these symptoms, call your primary care provider. If you do not have a primary care provider, call the CHA Health Information Line at 704-920-1213.