Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine announced that beginning Sunday, regional drive-thru and indoor walk-in testing clinics will be held in Beaver, Clearfield, Juniata, Potter and Schuylkill counties. The counties with testing sites will change each week over the next nine weeks so that 61 counties will eventually be covered by dedicated pop-up testing sites over a 12-week period.

“Over the past several weeks, we have seen a rapid increase of positive case counts reaching record-high levels, which gives us significant cause for concern,” Dr. Levine said. “In fact, every county now has a positivity-rate greater than five percent, which is alarming. In addition, 19 counties have percent positivity above 20 percent.”

Testing will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday at Schuylkill Intermediate Unit 29, 17 Maple Ave., Pottsville.

Up to 450 patients can be tested per day. Mid-nasal passage swab PCR tests will be performed. Testing is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is free to all patients. Patients must be ages 3 and older and are not required to show symptoms of COVID-19 in order to be tested. No appointment is necessary. Patients are encouraged to bring a photo-ID or insurance card. Registration will also be completed on-site. The turnaround time for testing results is two to seven days after testing.

Individuals who are tested should self-quarantine while they await test results. Individuals who live with other people should self-quarantine in a private room and use a private bathroom if possible. Others living in the home with the individual awaiting test results should also stay at home.