Long lines continue at Whatcom COVID-19 testing site Saturday
Long lines continued the second day of Whatcom County’s new drive-thru COVID-19 test site at the Civic Athletic Complex parking lot in Bellingham.
The site, which removes the barrier of needing a doctor’s order to be tested, administered 411 tests on its opening day Friday, July 10, and expected to serve at least 300 Saturday, July 11, said Erika Lautenbach, director of the Whatcom County Health Department. The department told The Bellingham Herald late Saturday that it conducted 399 on Saturday, for a total of 810 for the weekend. The county had expected to test up to 300 people over the two days.
Several dozen cars snaked their way through the parking lot around noon and more cars gradually joined the line as the day progressed. Lautenbach said the county learned they can process 30 to 35 cars an hour and have placed expected wait time signs along the line. She added some people have waited up to three hours for the drive-thru.
“We are still seeing that some folks are waiting three hours today, but we are moving the lines,” Lautenbach said. “They seem to be moving pretty steadily. There are more cars today than there were yesterday as well.”
People have to fill out a form with their contact and insurance information when they reach the registration point of the line. At the testing point, staff circle a swab within each person’s nostrils 10 times. The test is covered by insurance so there should be no out-of-pocket expenses. For those, without insurance, a federal grant should cover the cost of the test, Lautenbach said.
“The lab does charge insurance or this federal grant for processing, but there shouldn’t be a charge to individuals,” Lautenbach said. “Because there shouldn’t be co-pays or deductibles based on the insurance commissioners mandate to insurance companies.”
People in two tents with two stations each administered the test to those in cars. However, people who chose to walk could also be tested at a table with little to no line. This additional station served only four people as of 11 a.m., Lautenbach said.
“We have an option for people who are walking up or biking up,” Lautenbach said. “We’re working to tweak that in order to maintain safety with cars and walkers. So, we may make shifts and changes to make it easier for folks to do that next weekend.”
Lautenbach said they were able to more efficiently manage the line Saturday because they had more volunteers and staff. They also used more of the parking lot for the line that the food bank had occupied part of it Friday.
“So today we’re able to get people off the street and into the parking lot faster and that’s been really helpful,” Lautenbach said. “We have more and more staff and volunteers on site today, which is helpful in moving things along, and we’re starting to identify some more efficiencies that will help the process.”
About 30 volunteers and staff worked at the test site Saturday, Lautenbach said. Their roles included traffic control, registration processing, labeling and collecting specimens for testing and administrative support.
Lautenbach said the operation had been going smoothly for the most part. One car did break down in the line but some volunteers helped move the car and the driver took their test at the walk-up station.
The county will evaluate how well the test site operated and make necessary tweaks for the following week, Lautenbach said.
This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 2:09 PM.
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