Coronavirus Pennsylvania: Drive-thru Testing Site To Open In Luzerne County Next Week

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS.AP) — A drive-through coronavirus testing site opens next week in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania for emergency and health workers and older commonwealth residents with COVID-19 symptoms, state officials announced Saturday. The state's health secretary, Dr. Rachel Levine, said the site at the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza in Wilkes-Barre was sought because "we continue to see case counts increasing there."

During a press conference, officials also announced that the statewide total number of COVID-19 cases jumped above 31,000.

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The site will begin testing Monday for 100 first responders and health care workers from northeastern Pennsylvania who have symptoms of COVID-19. Beginning Tuesday, the site will test as many as 200 northeastern Pennsylvania residents over age 65 with symptoms as well as first responders and health care workers each day.

Registration a day in advance on the health department's website will be required, but patients won't need a doctor's prescription. Results should be available in two to three business days, and patients will receive an email to log on to the registration site and access their results, officials said.

People heading to the site will be required to return home and self-isolate after testing, and they are being urged not to make any stops along the way, such as to a grocery store or pharmacy, Levine said.

"We want people to come to the site and then go back home," Levine said.