ST. LOUIS COUNTY (KMOV.com) – To help meet the skyrocketing demand for COVID-19 testing, new testing sites opened up Monday in St. Louis City and St. Louis County.
Testing is now available at The Pageant Theater on the Delmar Loop 7 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Kelly Atwood and her two teenage sons got tested there.
“Super easy. We pre-registered online and just showed up and and waited maybe 10, 15 minutes and we were done,” she said.
The testing is being conducted by Nomi Health and registration is done online. The location has the capacity to test 500 to 1,000 people a day. Both rapid tests and the more accurate PCR tests are available. Walkups are welcome.
St. Louis County opened a new test site at the North St. Louis County Recreation Complex on Redman Road. Appointments must be scheduled online. Sixth grader Khristen Miller and her mother booked an appointment for Monday afternoon.
“And we’ve been around a lot of people, like going in and out of stores. So we just thought we should get tested,” she said.
The site has a capacity to test up to 200 people a day, but the capacity will be increased later.
Ballpark Village is conducting COVID testing 5 days a week. Last week, hundreds were tested and some had to wait in line as long as 90 minutes. But today there was virtually no waiting.
Lines were also shorter at the IBEW Local #1 offices at 5850 Elizabeth Avenue in South City. Last week, some reported waiting in their cars for the drive-through testing for up to four hours. Today the process took about 90 minutes.
GS Labs is also doing testing at its laboratories nationwide, including a local lab at 6940 South Lindbergh Boulevard. Appointments are required and can be booked online. According to Medical Laboratory Director Lindsey Nielsen, Ph.D., appointments are usually available the same day or next day.
“Simply drive up, stay in their cars and we’ll come up and collect a sample from them and we’ll return a result very quickly. Within 20 to 30 minutes after the test is completed,” she said.
In St. Charles County, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services is conducting drive-thru testing at the Family Arena in St. Charles. To make an appointment you can visit the website here.
Testing is also available 6 days a week in Fairview Heights at St. Clair Square. No appointments are necessary. You can get more information here. And information on COVID-19 testing options in Madison County can be found here.
The Des Moines metro area isn’t completely bereft of rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests — though finding them can require a hunt.
Phone calls to area Walgreens Tuesday all opened with pre-recorded warnings of “unprecedented demand” for the at-home rapid tests; Walgreens and CVS pharmacies limit their purchases to four and two per customer, respectively — if a store location has supplies in stock.
The at-home tests promise results in as little as 10 or 15 minutes and cost between about $10 to almost $40, depending on the manufacturer. They were subject to a pre-Christmas rush of demand in Iowa and nationally. Supply hadn’t quite recovered as of Tuesday morning, though some Walgreens, CVS and Hy-Vee Pharmacy locations said they were just receiving new stock or due for more later this week. CVS Pharmacy’s website highlights if a test is available at nearby stores.
Hy-Vee spokersperson Tina Potthoff said the chain had a decent supply. “Prior to the Christmas holiday, we saw a significant increase in customers purchasing at-home COVID tests at our stores in the metro; however, we don’t expect any issues with availability as we head into the New Year,” Potthoff said in an email.
Other COVID-19 testing options abound in Iowa
Many pharmacies that sell the at-home rapid tests also conduct their own on-site tests, including rapid tests. For those, they require the patient to visit in-person, instead of having take-home tests on hand to use at the onset of possible symptoms or to check for the virus immediately before attending an event. The price of the on-site tests vary by type, location and patients’ insurance status. PCR tests, which take longer to process, are free at Hy-Vee
GS Labs in West Des Moines showed open same-day appointment slots Tuesday morning for rapid and PCR tests, though it requires private health insurance, which completely covers the cost, or for customers to pay $380 up front.
Test Iowa, through a contract with the state government, offers free at-home PCR testing to all Iowa residents, though the sample must be shipped to a lab to be analyzed. Some drop-off sites, including at the Polk County Health Department, offer same-day delivery of the specimen to the State Hygienic Lab. Iowans can request the kits be sent directly to them, or they can pick them up at any of the dozens of locations statewide. To order a kit or find a place to get one, go to http://www.testiowa.com.
The state has “seen an increase in demand for testing and an increase in the activation rate of Test Iowa test kits,” Iowa Department of Public Health spokesperson Sarah Ekstrand said in an email. “The State Hygienic Lab is operating day and night to ensure Iowans have timely test results. “
Des Moines Public Schools also contracted with Nomi Health, the company behind Test Iowa, to offer free PCR and antigen testing at two Polk County locations: the Kurtz Opportunity Center on the southside and at the Northwest Public Swimming Pool. The sites prioritize students and their families and school staff, but are also open to the general public. People can make an appointment at http://testing.nomihealth.com/signup/dmschools. While insurance is not required, officials ask people with coverage to bring their insurance card.
The Biden administration will also purchase hundreds of millions of at-home rapid tests for distribution throughout the country, but residents won’t be able to request the tests until January.
What to do if you test positive for COVID-19 with an at-home test
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges people who test positive with an at-home test to notify their health care provider and any close contacts they may have had. Federal guidelines also say they should isolate for the next five days and until they are asymptomatic, and to rigorously mask around others for another five days after that. Polk County Health Department officials also urge county residents to contact their office so the department can help with contact tracing, spokesperson Nola Aigner Davis said. The department’s phone number is 515-286-3798.
The CDC recently changed its guidance from 10 days of isolation following new research into COVID-19 and the omicron variant specifically that shows most transmissions happen early in the initial infection.
Test Iowa, health care providers and private labs and pharmacies are required to be report COVID-19 test results to the state, regardless of if they are positive or negative, to help officials understand viral activity in the state, Ekstrand said. At-home tests, “though an important and convenient tool,” do not have the same requirement, she said. They also aren’t used for sequencing, which is used to help officials estimate the presence and proportion of new variants.
Experts don’t expect there to be a slow down in testing any time soon as omicron continues to spread.
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — On Monday, Minnesota surpassed an unimaginable milestone – one million COVID-19 cases are now confirmed in the state since the pandemic began nearly 22 months ago.
While that jump is because there are more cases, it’s also because people are getting tested in record numbers.
Vault Health runs 21 testing sites in Minnesota, including Brooklyn Park, where last week, employees there administered six tests every minute.
“Record numbers actually, more than we had, in fact, in November of 2020,” said Vault Health CEO Jason Feldman.
Feldman says he expects to have already broken that record.
The testing site at the airport also just doubled the amount of tests it performed right before Thanksgiving. Since then, the omicron variant has spread across the entire country.
“At this point, omicron is relatively easy to detect with a PCR test,” says Feldman. “In fact, there are some tell tale signs in the lab that don’t affect most people.”
For example, if the virus doesn’t have what’s called the s-gene, it’s likely omicron – otherwise known as “s-gene dropouts”. But full genomic sequencing in a laboratory is necessary to be sure. Doctors are discovering omicron also has symptoms similar to the common cold.
“I think this is going to be a pretty steady increase in the amount of people that are getting infected and the amount of people getting tested for an unknown amount of time,” said Dr. Darin Jackson. He’s the medical director of GS Labs that has seven private testing sites in Minnesota.
In the last two weeks, Dr. Jackson doubled the amount of tests administered at his labs.
“Let’s make sure that after we’ve been together, if we find we’re experiencing symptoms, even if they’re mild, get checked, so that we can stop this spread and get back to life,” said Feldman.
Minnesota offers free PCR or rapid testing at more than 20 community sites statewide. Results from many home test kits return in as quickly as 20 minutes.
The vaccine clinics at Mall of America and MSP Airport are accepting appointments or walk-ins, and offering boosters. The MOA clinic is closed Dec. 31 and Jan. 1. The MSP clinics are closed Jan 1.
As the holidays come to a close, some may want to or need to get a COVID-19 test.
When should you get a COVID test?
According to the CDC, COVID symptoms will appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus.
Where can you get a COVID test?
At-home test kits are sold out, or in limited supply, across Central Iowa. A rapid at-home test can provide results in as little as 15 minutes. A negative at-home test means you may not have the virus, but the CDC suggests taking another test 24 hours later to increase the confidence you are not infected.
Other pharmacies and locations offer testing. You can get a test through IDPH through Test Iowa, other testing locations can be found here.
Someone at my holiday party tested positive, should I get tested?
People who are fully vaccinated should be tested 5-7 days after their last exposure, according to the CDC. People who are not vaccinated should get tested immediately after finding out they were exposed. They should get tested again 5-7 days after their last exposure, or immediately if symptoms develop.
The CDC suggests everyone, regardless of vaccination status, wear a mask inside an indoor public place. Doctors and the CDC agree, the best way to stop the spread of COVID-19 is to get vaccinated.
DES MOINES, Iowa — If you’re in need of a COVID-19 test, but are not feeling any serious symptoms, some healthcare leaders are now recommending you get tested away from hospital facilities.
Dr. Clint Hawthorne, who directs the emergency departments at UnityPoint Health’s Des Moines hospitals, says the effort spent on testing asymptomatic patients should go towards saving the lives of COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit.
“If you are sick, then that’s simple: You stay at home and get tested,” Hawthorne said. “If you’re feeling ill, then we’re here, but if you’re feeling like, ‘I just need to get a test,’ there’s lots of places that can provide just a test.”
Among those places is GS Labs, a Nebraska-based COVID testing lab with a testing site across from Valley West Mall in West Des Moines.
GS Labs medical director Darin Jackson, MD said the busy season for testing is underway due to the holidays.
“There’s still a need,” Jackson said. “Our numbers are up 50 to 60 percent in the last couple of weeks.”
Jackson said his facility now administers about 300 tests a day, but is prepared to handle a thousand tests a day if demand starts to surge even more.
“In these traditional holidays where people want to get together, people want to be as safe as they can,” Jackson said.
Hawthorne said take-home tests from pharmacies and department stores are also recommended, as long as it tells you the results away from Iowa’s busy emergency rooms.
“Almost 30 percent of our beds are allocated towards one disease entity, and that really starts to limit the capabilities to provide for everyone else in the community,” Hawthorne said. “The hospital system and primary care clinics can not be the only place for testing.”
GS Labs: Rapid Tests Still Widely Available Across The Region; About 1 in 11 Twin Cities-Area Patients Currently Testing Positive for COVID-19
MINNEAPOLIS – As the 2021 holiday season reaches a peak, one of the state’s largest private testing laboratories is offering tips on how Twin Cities residents can stay safer as they celebrate.
GS Labs, a leading provider of COVID-19 rapid tests across the United States, last week provided about 22 percent of all the COVID-19 antigen tests performed in Minnesota. The lab performed rapid tests on about 13,500 Twin Cities residents with 1,187 people testing positive. That positivity rate of 9 percent represents about one out of every 11 patients testing positive, a rate that has been constant since the late October Halloween holiday.
“Right now, the Twin Cities has been in a sustained COVID-19 surge for nearly two months, with a positivity rate of between 9 and 11 percent each week on our rapid tests,” said Dr. Darin Jackson, GS Labs Medical Director. “That’s being driven by the Delta variant, which continues to dominate in Minnesota. If you go back to June and July, we were seeing positive rates in the 1 to 2 percent range. Then Delta hit Minnesota – and hit the state hard.”
Jackson noted that the state Department of Health has indicated the Omicron variant is present in Minnesota. Federal health officials indicated this week that Omicron now accounts for about three-quarters of infections across the U.S.
“That’s something the medical community will continue to monitor,” said Dr. Jackson. “We know Omicron is on people’s minds, because we have experienced a 30 percent increase in testing this week here in Minnesota.”
Despite the heightened need for testing over the holidays, GS Labs continues to have ample testing capacity at its seven testing sites in the Twin Cities area, including in Shakopee, Eagan, Minnetonka, Blaine, Bloomington, Woodbury and Maplewood. Each site is open for extended hours during the holidays and can handle at least 1,000 rapid tests each day. Results are typically available on the same day, usually within 20 minutes of the completion of the test.
For people with symptoms or who have been potentially exposed to COVID-19, testing is available at no cost to them if they have health insurance, because your insurer is obligated to pay GS Labs’ cash price under applicable law. For those without health insurance, GS Labs’ rapid test cost of $380 applies. Appointments must be made online prior to arrival.
If you are going to a holiday gathering in the Twin Cities area, there are steps you can take to be safer around others – including getting a rapid test 1 to 3 days beforehand to determine your COVID-19 status. Other safety measures include:
Wear a well-fitting mask over your nose and mouth if you are in public indoor settings if you are not fully vaccinated.
Given the sustained surge in the region, we recommend that even fully vaccinated people should wear a mask in public indoor settings.
Remember, outdoors is safer than indoors.
Avoid crowded, poorly ventilated spaces.
Avoid shouting and singing, especially in indoor spaces.
If you are sick or have symptoms, don’t host or attend a gathering.
Also consider getting a COVID-19 test 3 to 5 days after you return home from your trip.
Even if your test is negative, it’s wise to reduce non-essential activities for a full 7 days after travel.
“Holidays are incredibly important for families, and we understand that,” said Dr. Jackson. “No one wants to be a Scrooge. If you are going to celebrate in a group, understand that no amount of protection is absolutely perfect, but these steps can reduce the risk of getting infected and help you and your family celebrate the holidays more safely.”
Per the World Health Organization, in November 2021 the Omicron Variant was first detected in Africa. The numerical representation for the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant, the virus that causes COVID-19, is B.1.1.529.
SARS-CoV-2 Variant of Concern
As of November 30, 2021, the Omicron Variant is being tracked by the U.S. government SARS-CoV-2 Interagency Group (SIG)as a Variant of Concern, or VOC.
According to the CDC, “As of December 20, 2021, Omicron has been detected in most states and territories and is rapidly increasing the proportion of COVID-19 cases it is causing.”
The CDC recommends 3 ways to mitigate risk when concerned with the Omicron Variant:
Vaccination
Masks
Testing
Testing For The Omicron Variant
The two primary ways to detect for COVID-19 Omicron Variant are with nucleic acid amplification tests (NAATs) and antigen tests. These two tests notify a person of a current infection.
At GS Labs, we provide same day Rapid Antigen and Rapid PCR (NAAT) or LAMP (NAAT)tests that can detect the Omicron Variant. Our trained and professional staff is ready to serve the current and growing needs of testing across communities in the US to keep you and your family informed, healthy and safe.
With the increases in COVID-19 around the US, it’s best to stay up-to-date with news on the virus outbreak across the country and in your community.
Here are some of the top websites for Coronavirus tracking:
1. Worldometers.info – COVID-19 Tracking
Worldometers provides one of the easiest to view COVID-19 numbers by continent, country, state and more. Tracking shows current-day, yesterday and COVID numbers from up to 2 days ago.
John Hopkins University and Medicine is also one of the better sources for COVID-19 data and news. One of the best features here is the map/plotting feature to help visualize outbreaks.
The CDC’s website data tracker focuses on clearly laying out the affects of COVID-19 on communities, and provides quick resources on COVID-19 safety and testing.
According to the CDC, there are many symptoms of COVID-19, some of which may seem similar to that of the common cold and range in severity. Some of the most common symptoms include:
Fever or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headache
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea
With some similarities to the common cold, COVID-19 tests can help identify if symptoms are or are not from Coronavirus. There are two important designations with COVID-19 tests, which include viral tests (if you currently have the COVID-19 Virus) or an antibody test (if you previously had the virus).
Severe COVID-19 Symptoms
If a person is experiencing more severe symptoms, the CDC advises them to seek immediate medical assistance. More severe symptoms include:
Understanding The Difference Between Molecular, Antigen and Antibody Coronavirus Tests
With the rapid increase of COVID-19 cases in the United States, our communities, healthcare system and way of life are being affected. As a result, COVID-19 is a constant topic in the news and there are many COVID-19 related terms to understand.
Molecular and Antigen COVID-19 tests are very similar in that they both help to diagnose (or not) active coronavirus infections, meaning the person currently has COVID-19. The primary difference between the two is speed. Antibody tests, however, determine if a person has had COVID-19 in the past.
The FDA summarizes the differences of these three COVID-19 tests in an easy-to-read way:
In need of a COVID-19 Testing Facility? GS Labs Testing provides all three coronavirus tests at facilities in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Washington and more, with facilities opening every day to help communities identify COVID-19.
The test you are selecting is for individuals seeking a test for a non-diagnostic (non-medically necessary) reason. Examples of such include events, return to work, or travel purposes. GS Labs is not responsible for assisting in the submission process if you choose to submit a claim for your test to your health insurer for reimbursement.
