With COVID case counts in Chester County at record highs, the county’s Health Department is moving to add testing sites, while asking residents to report positive “at home” test results. They also remind everyone that vaccinations and booster shots remain available for free from the Health Department.
Officials with the Chester County Health Department (CCHD) announced the latest testing and vaccination services to help the county’s efforts to control COVID-19 Tuesday.
The Chester County Health Department has finalized two additional locations for COVID-19 testing providers to establish free test sites, available by appointment around the county. Free PCR testing is now available at the Chester County Government Services Center, Westtown Road in West Chester. A second testing site opens today, Tuesday, January 11, 2022 at the Technical College High School – Pennock’s Bridge Campus, located at 280 Pennock’s Bridge Road in West Grove.
Both of these locations will be independently operated by the testing company Curative, which will manage test site locations, logistics and schedules, as well as appointments. Further testing locations are being rolled-out across Chester County and will be announced in the coming days.
Web links to all test sites around Chester County can be found on the CCHD website, www.chesco.org/coronavirus (click “Testing Information”). This includes the Curative sites located at the Government Services Center and Pennock’s Bridge, as well as pharmacies and urgent care centers. Retail pharmacies such as CVS, Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Walmart are administering tests at their locations free of charge. These links provide details of the test site locations and opening times, as well access to appointments.
“This time of high demand for all COVID-19 PCR and antigen tests, which follows the holiday season, means that all test providers are experiencing a tremendous volume of work, and most are undertaking testing by appointment only,” said CCHD Director Jeanne Franklin. “We ask anyone needing a test to check regularly for availability of appointments at all locations.”
“If you cannot find a test and are experiencing COVID-like symptoms, it is recommended that you stay home for five days and limit your interaction with others.”
The Chester County Health Department is asking community members who have received a positive result from an at-home COVID-19 test to report this to the Health Department under the “Testing Information” section ofwww.chesco.org/coronavirus.
“Reporting of positive-only results from at-home tests helps us to understand how the virus is spreading in our communities and ensures those who test positive receive the most current information regarding isolation and notifying their close contacts,” notes Jeanne Franklin. “These results are NOT included as part of our data reporting, and as with any information such as this, it is treated as confidential and would never be shared.”
The Chester County Health Department continues to offer vaccine appointments, both primary series (first and second doses) and boosters, for all eligible individuals. Health Department vaccine locations are the Government Services Center on Westtown Road in West Chester, and the Kennett Fire Company’s Red Clay Room in Kennett Square.
Appointments through the Chester County Health Department can be made at www.chesco.org/covid19vaccine. Many other COVID-19 vaccine locations throughout the county can be found at www.vaccines.gov.
The Chester County Health Department posts weekly data updates which are used to monitor COVID-19 in the county. Reporting includes community transmission, incidence rate and percent positivity, new cases by age, vaccination levels, test results, and the number of deaths due to COVID-19. The weekly update can be found under the “Weekly Data Update” section of www.chesco.org/coronavirus.
Chester County’s current 7-day county transmission level is high.
