Drive-thru COVID-19 testing conducted in Mississippi County

A Mississippi County Health Department employee wearing personal protective equipment with the hands literature to a resident who was tested for COVID-19 Tuesday as part of the county’s two-day drive-thru testing at the former Galemore Motor site in Charleston. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services provided the county with 250 COVID-19 test kits for use on Mississippi County residents as part of the state’s effort to collect a sampling of a population. Locally, Dunklin County was provided 200 kits and Perry County was provided 400 kits to conduct testing this week.

Leonna Heuring/Standard Democrat

CHARLESTON, Mo. — Mississippi County Health Department plans to test collect samples from 250 of its residents during its two-day drive-thru COVID-19 testing.

The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services provided Mississippi County with COVID-19 test kits to use on Mississippi County residents during scheduled times Tuesday and Wednesday at the Old Galemore Motors building, 1010 E. Marshall St., in Charleston.

As of early Tuesday, 160 Mississippi County residents had scheduled to be tested, according to the health department. However, registration was still being accepted by the health department through Wednesday.

“I’m very fortunate the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services reached out to us — and Dunklin County; we are the only two counties in the Bootheel that are conducting the drive-thru testings free to our residents,” said Rachelle Johnson, administrator of the Mississippi County Health Department.

Dunklin and Mississippi Counties each received 250 kits while the next closest county — Perry County— received 400 test kits, according to Johnson.

As of Tuesday, Mississippi County had 23 total confirmed cases of COVID19; however, those cases are attributed to the Southeast Correctional Center in Charleston where the Missouri Department of Corrections said 23 inmates and three staff members have tested positive for the virus.

“If not for the confirmed cases at the prison, we would be at zero cases,” Johnson said of Mississippi County. “It would be interesting to see if after we do these tests, if anyone is going to comeback positive if they don’t have symptoms.”

The test collections are a surveillance tool to see how a community is doing.

“This is just a sampling,” Johnson said of this week’s test collection. “With the governor getting ready to open Missouri, this will give an idea of the general population being tested and then seeing and evaluating those results.”

The state is also targeting those populations that are high-risk, such as nursing homes and doing that in a manner to see results across the board, Johnson said.

After completing an online survey prior to the testing day, residents were allowed to pick a time slot and given a number.

“We need that number when you come to the testing site. The testing site is drive-thru so no one will have to get out of their vehicle,” Johnson said. “We have two teams of nurses working per vehicle.”

Check-ins are also done using iPads. Participants who registered will be asked questions, such as if they’re experiencing any symptoms. They already completed the survey online and will be sent their test results, she said.

The test — a nasopharyngeal swab — is the same hospitals and doctor’s offices are using, she said.

“It’s a swab in the nose,” Johnson said.

Residents who were tested but had no symptoms were not asked to self-isolate, Johnson said.

“We do want you to continue to practice social distancing, washing your hands, covering your cough and if you are sick, stay home,” she said.