Archived: Sedgwick County Expands COVID-19 Testing for the Community: New Testing Site and Sunday Hours

(Sedgwick County, Kan.) – On Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, Sedgwick County Health Department (SCHD) will open a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at 777 E. Waterman St. in downtown Wichita. The location is a Wichita Transit building which has been offered by City of Wichita for County use due to increased demand for testing. The new site is supported by one of two Kansas National Guard teams recently assigned to Sedgwick County as COVID-19 testing support through Feb. 9.

Drive-thru testing site hours will be Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 2:30 to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. No appointments are necessary.

On Sunday, Jan. 23, SCHD will expand testing hours at its 4115 E. Harry St. location. The new additional hours are Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. A second National Guard Team is assigned to the E. Harry testing site to expand capacity.

Only self-collected saliva sampling is offered at the drive-thru site and on Sundays at the E. Harry location. Before arriving at either location, people should register with WSU’s Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory (MDL) at https://mdl.wichita.edu/GenePortal_LIVE. The saliva testing is PCR performed by MDL.

“This drive-thru site with evening and Saturday hours will help to meet the overwhelming demand for COVID-19 testing, especially as Sedgwick County cases are spiking due to Omicron,” said Adrienne Byrne, Sedgwick County Health Director.

“Our partnerships with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the City of Wichita and the Kansas National Guard have enabled us to get this testing site up and running quickly,” she added.

To avoid a rejected test, people cannot eat, drink, smoke or chew anything for 30 minutes before producing a saliva sample. SCHD does not recommend saliva testing for children less than five years old. Children and adults can be tested by nose or throat swab at 4115 E. Harry during the weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday.

SCHD COVID-19 Testing Locations & Hours

For a list of additional testing locations, please visit https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/covid-19/sampling-and-testing-information/covid-19-testing-locations/.

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