News
COVID-19 Testing Facility Opens in Athens for Those Referred by Physician
By: Claudia Cisneros
Posted on:
ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — An outpatient COVID-19 testing facility opened Tuesday in Athens in response to the coronavirus pandemic.
OhioHealth spokesperson, Keely Stockwell, says they are not making the location public because people are only to show up there unless referred by a physician.
“This testing site is not an on-demand testing site for the general public. People will be turned away without a physician order from the OhioHealth COVID-19 Clinical Team.”
Only the highest risk patients will be allowed to be tested in this facility if they comply with the following:
-Being 60 years or older with comorbidities (uncontrolled diabetes, immune-suppressed system, heart failure or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
-Having a physician order.
-Suffering these symptoms:
- Fever
- New or worsening shortness of breath
- Cough
- Acute fatigue
- Confusion
Times and dates for the testing facility in Athens are currently Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and weekends from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. These are subject to change.
OhioHealth says they have currently established processes to allow outside health providers to refer patients to this site as well.
The Athens facility is the fourth by OhioHealth opened in the last few days amid the coronavirus emergency. The other three are located in central Ohio, Mansfield (to open Tuesday), and Marion (to Wednesday, March 25).