Mass coronavirus testing Wednesday at Infinite Energy Center

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“It really is just allowing a much larger testing capacity so people don’t have to wait for appointments,” department spokesman Chad Wasdin said.

Anyone who is experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19, the disease caused by coronavirus, is eligible to get tested. Those symptoms include cough, fever and shortness of breath. Testing is free and the health department does not collect any insurance or financial information.

Appointments are required to get tested at the Infinite Energy Center event, which will be operated in a drive-through capacity like the department’s normal weekday testing sites. A small number of appointments were still available as of 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to department spokesman Chad Wasdin.

The Infinite Energy Center event will allow twice the amount of people to get tested than the capacity of the Lawrenceville and Covington sites the department operates Monday through Saturday; both can accommodate 200 appointments per day. Those normal testing sites will be closed Wednesday so the department can focus all of its testing resources on the Infinite Energy Center event. They will re-open with normal hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday.

The Lawrenceville and Covington test sites became open to anyone with symptoms last week after the Georgia Department of Public Health expanded testing eligibility. Previously, only people declared to be at the highest risk — seniors, health care workers, first responders and long-term care center residents and employees — were eligible for testing.

To get tested at the Infinite Energy Center or the Lawrenceville or Covington test centers, call the health department at 770-513-5631. No doctor’s referral is required.