DeKalb County closed its mass testing and vaccination sites Thursday due to unsafe weather conditions.
The Atlanta area experienced strong storms overnight Wednesday, which prompted a tornado watch for northwest Georgia. Heavy rain continued Thursday morning, and several counties, including DeKalb and Fulton, were under a flash flood warning.
The threat of more severe weather led DeKalb health officials to close its sites for the day.
The closed locations include the vaccination site at the Doraville MARTA station and the county’s two testing sites at North DeKalb Health Center and Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church. Both testing sites had been experiencing hourslong waits due to high demand for tests amid the recent surge of COVID-19′s omicron variant.
DeKalb is pressing forward with an event to give away 5,000 at-home rapid tests at three locations. The drive-thru sites are scheduled to open at 9 a.m. and remain open while test kit supplies last.
To observe the New Year’s Day holiday on Friday, some testing sites will be closed until next week. Sites will be closed in Cherokee, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry and Rockdale counties.
The North DeKalb testing site will be open from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday, while the Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church testing site will be closed Friday, the DeKalb Board of Health confirmed. The spokesman for the Fulton Board of Health said its testing sites are scheduled to be open during normal hours Friday.
To schedule a test, visit you local board of health’s website or the website for Mako Medical, the Georgia Department of Public Health’s testing contractor. PCR and rapid tests are also available from pharmacies and urgent cares. Grocery stores and retailers also sell at-home test kits.
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