May 28, 2020
Rebecca McLeod, Public Health Director
Lisa Moore, Burke County Public Information Officer
Michael Willis, Director of Emergency Management
Eastern Burke County Drive Thru COVID-19 Testing
Morganton, NC– Wednesday, June 3, the Burke County Health Department will be hosting a targeted first come first serve drive thru COVID-19 testing clinic at East Burke Middle School parking lot for individuals that live in the eastern portion of Burke County. Testing is only for Burke County residents living in towns from Valdese to the eastern county line. (Those that live in these zip code areas 28690, 28671, 28612, 28666, 28637, 28667 and 28601 Burke County line residents)
Those seeking testing will need to bring their driver’s license and insurance card if you have insurance coverage. COVID-19 testing is for residents who meet the groups below:
• Anyone with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19
• Close contacts of known positive cases, regardless of symptoms
• Regardless of symptoms, anyone at higher risk of exposure or at a higher risk for severe disease. Such patient populations are:
o Persons who live in or have regular contact with high-risk settings (e.g., long-term care facility, homeless shelter, correctional facility, migrant farmworker camp, etc.)
o Persons who are at high risk of severe illness (e.g., people over 65 years of age, people of any age with underlying health conditions and those with weakened immune systems from other conditions such as receiving cancer treatments, those living with HIV, etc.)
o Persons who come from historically marginalized populations.
o Healthcare workers or first responders (e.g. EMS, law enforcement, fire department, military)
o Front-line and essential workers (grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, etc.) in settings where social distancing is difficult to maintain
Please do not line up early, gates will open at 9am and be closed at 2:30pm. Traffic personnel will assist with directing the flow of traffic. Please be sure to follow the directions, and we respectfully request your patience during this process. You will have to stay in your car, and you might be in your car for a long period of time so please pack your patience. There will be no access to any bathrooms during this testing clinic.
All testing may take 2-5 days for results. Those who receive a COVID-19 test are required to self-isolate (stay at home and do not go out for any reason) until the test produces a negative result. These participants will also need to self-isolate from others within their homes until the test produces a negative result in order to prevent the potential spread of the virus within their own homes.
For more information contact the Burke County Public Information Line at 764-9388.