Testing site hours extended in DeKalb amid COVID-19 spike

211221-DECATUR-Janai Kornegay, center, helps customers while working at the Viral Solutions drive-through Covid testing site in Decatur on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. The line for testing stretched more than a block as people prepare for Christmas travel.  Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Credit: Ben Gray

Credit: Ben Gray

211221-DECATUR-Janai Kornegay, center, helps customers while working at the Viral Solutions drive-through Covid testing site in Decatur on Tuesday, Dec. 21, 2021. The line for testing stretched more than a block as people prepare for Christmas travel. Ben Gray for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Residents in DeKalb County will have more time to get a COVID-19 test each day.

The county’s testing site at the North DeKalb Health Center in Chamblee will be open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. each weekday, according to the county’s board of health. Previously, the site closed at 2 p.m. daily. The new hours went into effect Friday.

The site, staffed by Mako Medical, has been overwhelmed with demand from residents trying to get tested amid the recent COVID-19 spike spurred by the rapid spread of the omicron variant. At some points during the end of December, mass testing sites experienced wait times up to two hours.

According to the county’s most recent data, positive COVID-19 cases increased in DeKalb by more than 650% by mid-December. From Dec. 2 until Dec. 15, more than 10,800 positive cases were identified.

DeKalb’s other testing site at Greater Piney Grove Baptist Church near east Atlanta will expand its hours starting next Monday, board of health spokesman Eric Nickens told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The location will be open from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. on weekdays.

Pre-registration is required to get a free COVID-19 test at one of DeKalb’s locations. For more information, visit dekalbhealth.net.