COVID-19 testing underway at Perdue Stadium
SALISBURY, Md. – Medical workers were at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium in Salisbury doing mass testing of people vulnerable to COVID-19, and poultry workers and their families. Wicomico County Health Department officials tell 47ABC even though Thursday’s event had to be cancelled because of weather, things went well Friday.
They also say that those who had to wait before they could get tested didn’t mind, and that they were just grateful for the help. “Everything’s running smoothly at this point. We got operational a little bit after 9. We had about a 163 vehicles on the compound at the 10 o’clock mark,” said health officer Lori Brewster.
The Wicomico County Health Department worked with Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Chesapeake Healthcare, and first responders to keep things running smoothly. “The nice thing is we have all worked together before, so it’s not like you’re in a new relationship. We have relationships, which is awesome. So when it’s time to get everybody together, we already have that relationship which makes it run a lot smoother,” said health department public information officer Jennifer Johnson.
The tests were taken without people getting out of their cars. After the swabs were collected, they were picked up to be sent to a lab, which will process results within 24 hours. Brewster says there were plenty of tests on hand, and more available when needed. “We have access to a number of tests. Regardless of how many we need, they can be brought in from across the bridge for us,” said Brewster.
Emergency Medical Services and police were at the stadium to make sure everyone was staying safe. Spanish and Haitian Creole interpreters were also on site to help everyone be on the same page. “Within the health department or PRMC, Chesapeake Healthcare – we have interpreters through those different agencies, which makes it nice ahead of time to get them out there to make sure that they can get the information to the populations we need to get the information to,” said Johnson.
The health department says they’re going to continue working on community outreach. That way they can make sure that everyone knows how to keep themselves safe and healthy. Saturday the testing will continue between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. – and again from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. If you need information about COVID-19 or how to get tested, you can call the health department’s hot line at (410) 912-6889.
