No appointment is needed, and no health care provider’s referral is required. The testing is open to anyone, but quantities may be limited, according to the state health department.
Kay Farrar, Hamilton’s health commissioner, said pre-treated samples taken three weeks ago from the city’s wastewater facility showed a 10 times increase in possible COVID-19 cases from the previous week. She called the increase “very significant” so she immediately began planning for a pop-up testing site.
While she knew the county had reported an increase in coronavirus cases, the samples confirmed her beliefs.
“Houston, we have a problem,” she said.
She hopes residents get tested today so they will know their results before the Thanksgiving holiday. Farrar said anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus should not attend holiday gatherings.
The pop-up testing will be run by the Hamilton Health Department and the Ohio National Guard.
Gov. Mike DeWine has pushed the importance of testing at his bi-weekly press conferences and said rates of new cases are rising faster than the number of people being tested. Last week, he said while testing has doubled, the rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases has quadrupled.
On Tuesday, the ODH announced the latest coronavirus statistics and Butler County remained one of the highest counties in the state for COVID-19 reported cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
Ohio has reported more than 300,000 cases of the COVID-19 virus during the pandemic, according to the ODH. There have been 12,874 cases reported in Butler, making it the fifth-highest of the 88 counties in the state. Butler ranks eighth in hospitalizations (663) and deaths (139), according to the ODH.
More than 9,000 Butler residents are presumed recovered from COVID-19, according to the ODH.
Warren County has reported 6,912 cases, 355 hospitalizations, 72 deaths and 4,696 are presumed recovered from the virus, the ODH said.
Ohio has reported 312,443 cases, 22,846 hospitalizations, 5,772 deaths and 208,945 are presumed recovered.
With the surge of novel coronavirus cases in the state, DeWine announced Tuesday a curfew will begin Thursday from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the next three weeks.
The number of novel coronavirus cases have steadily increased in Butler County over the past several weeks, mirroring the rising virus number statewide, he said last week.
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