COVID testing sites in Dougherty County reduced to lone site

ALBANY — Starting Monday, Southwest Public Health District 8-2 will have only one COVID testing site remaining at the Dougherty County Health Department, officials with the department announced.

Friday was the final day for testing at the Forestry Service site on Oakridge Drive in Albany.

Due to dwindling numbers of COVID-19 cases in Georgia and more availability of home test kits, the 14-county district has condensed testing locations.

The health district’s lone remaining testing site at the Dougherty County Health Department, which utilizes drive-through testing, will be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, at 1710 S. Slappey Blvd., in Albany. COVID-19 testing is free, and registration is not required. Results are typically available 24 to 48 hours after testing.

Tests at the site are PCR testing done by self-administered nasal swab to determine the presence of the virus that causes COVID-19. It is not an antigen or antibody test.

Public health officials continue to urge people to get tested for COVID-19, regardless of their vaccination status, if they have COVID-19 type symptoms or have been in recent close contact with a person infected with the virus.

For more information, visit swhealthdistrict.org.

Special Photo