Mobile testing held in OKC middle school parking lot

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma City-County Health Department (OCCHD) and OU Medicine provided mobile COVID-19 testing at an Oklahoma City middle school Saturday afternoon.

Mobile testing was held from 1-3 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Southeast Middle School located at 6700 S. Hudson Avenue in Oklahoma City. Testing will be held again at Southeast Middle School next Saturday.

OCCHD and OU Medicine are bringing mobile testing to zip codes experiencing high COVID-19 positivity rates in Oklahoma County.

“We’re focusing the mobile testing on the communities experiencing the highest positivity rates of COVID-19, and our data analysis currently shows south OKC as having the highest numbers of positive cases,” said LT Knighten, public information officer for OCCHD.

OCCHD is handling logistical support, while OU Medicine provides staff for the pop-up sites, which will occur once a week on Saturdays.

“We are eager to work with OCCHD to expand testing in Oklahoma City, specifically in those areas we know are the hardest hit,” said Erin Walker, assistant vice president of Operations at The Children`s Hospital at OU Medicine. “Testing is a great first step in reducing the spreadof this disease, so we encourage the community to participate.”

OCCHD stresses testing as critical to identifying the impact of the virus in the community.

“We’re excited to partner with OU Medicine to reach vulnerable populations and to make tests more available with Saturday scheduling,” Knighten said. “We encourage individuals who are experiencing symptoms, or who think they’ve been in contact with a confirmed positive case, to be tested.”

Individuals were able to access the testing site by entering Hudson on the south end of the loop and exit on 66th on the north end of the loop.

The CDC states the following individuals should get tested for COVID-19:

• People who have symptoms of COVID-19
• People who have had close contact (within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes) with someone with confirmed COVID-19
• People who have been asked or referred to get testing by their healthcare provider, local or state health department.

In addition to the mobile testing, individuals in Oklahoma County who need to be tested can schedule a test through OCCHD’s Crush the Curve website at testokc.com.

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