CLEVELAND — When the pandemic first reached Ohio, a coronavirus test was hard to come by for anyone who wasn't showing signs of the virus. Long lines snaked around testing sites and some people were even turned away. Now everyone in Ohio can get a test without a doctor's note, according to Gov. Mike DeWine.
"Whether you have symptoms or not, you can visit a community health center, a testing location, or a pharmacy to receive one,” said Cuyahoga County Board of Health Commissioner Terry Allan.
In Cuyahoga County, they’ve expanded testing for quite some time, so much so, that the demand has gone down.
"We’re seeing a much lower demand for tests than there was even just a few weeks ago and I think probably some of that is that its beautiful outside, we are all desperate for sunshine and our lives to return to normal,” said Dr. Heidi Gullett, the medical director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Health.
To find out where testing is offered go to www.coravirus.ohio.gov [coravirus.ohio.gov] and search for testing locations by county.
You can also reach out to your doctor, hospital, community health center or pharmacy.
"A patient registers online at CVS.com and using their zip code they can really find locations that are close by,” said Sarita Saade-Harfouch, a CVS regional director.
CVS is offering drive-thru testing at some of their stores in Cuyahoga County and beyond.
You will administer the test yourself with a trained technician walking you through the entire process.
"How to open the test, how to swab, the angle they have even a QR code that they can scan to kind of see a video of how to do it,” said Saade-Harfouch. "They put their test in a collection box that gets picked up every single day for results. They would typically get their results in two-four days tops.”
The county says soon the national guard will have pop-up testing sites in areas where there is limited access to testing locations.
"If we can set up a structure in lots of parts of our community that enables us to be able to rapidly deploy testing when there’s a surge we will have succeeded during this time where the demand seems a little lower and its those very sites we hope will be points of dispensing for vaccination as soon as its available,” said Dr. Gullett.
RELATED: Gov. DeWine opens up testing to all Ohio residents, even those not showing any symptoms
