Residents of Carroll County can be tested for COVID-19 on Thursday, July 30 at J.Z. George High School in North Carrollton from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. as the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Mississippi State Department of Health continue efforts to stem virus transmission by setting up one-day, drive-through collection sites.
“J.Z. George is a central location in Carroll County. We did testing back in May at the school, and it worked out good,” said Carroll County Emergency Management/Civil Defense Director Ken Strachan.
Anyone can be tested who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath, sore throat, or who has been exposed to someone confirmed with the virus.
Mississippians who want to be tested must first complete a free screening from a UMMC clinician through an online questionnaire found at umc.edu/covidscreening, or they can call the UMMC Center for Telehealth at 662-496-7200 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Anyone determined to need testing will be given an appointment date and time at the testing site most convenient.
“I was contacted by Claude Elam of McCarley, who is with the organization Carroll County Men in Black and Blue, and they will be on hand to help with traffic at the school,” Strachan said.
Strachan, who has been working with the Mississippi State Department of Health on getting another testing site in Carroll County before school starts in August, told the Carroll County Board of Supervisors Monday that it worked out over the weekend to get Thursday confirmed.
“We had several things to get together, from authorization from the superintendent of education, and Sheriff Clint Walker will provide the deputies that is required,” Strachan said.
Thousands of people in Mississippi communities have taken advantage of the UMMC/MSDH drive-through collection sites. Those numbers include, as of the end of the day July 23, a total 9,123 people at 161 one-day testing sites statewide, plus another 15,588 at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds and West Street Farmers Market, for a total of 24,711 tested.
“Along with taking precautions, such as wearing a mask and practice social distancing it is important to identify COVID-19 where isolation can begin to contain the spread,” Strachan said.
The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi National Guard are partnering with UMMC and MSDH to coordinate mobile testing sites. During drive-through testing, health care professionals will collect specimen samples via a nose swab. Those being tested will not exit their vehicle.
