COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina has had hundreds of pop-up and drive-through testing sites for COVID-19. But what about people who need to be tested for the virus but don’t have a car or may be homebound. That’s why Richland and Clarendon counties are offering in-home testing for free.
Both counties partnered with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) to offer the testing to county residents.
"If you have the means to get to a testing site, then utilize that, but if not, then we’re here available to take care of you, get the testing done and get the results back to you," said Brad Gerfin, the Deputy Chief of Medical Operations for Clarendon County Fire Rescue.
He says Clarendon county saw a need to offer at-home testing because they don’t have public transportation.
"There’s no taxis, there’s no buses," Gerfin said. "So, you know it’s great to have drive-through testing, but you have to have something to drive through with, so we knew there was definitely a need there."
Gerfin said when someone calls to ask for at-home testing, the county’s community paramedic sets up a time with them, comes to their house and administers a PCR test.
"Our community paramedic wears full PPE, we can do the test there, we drop it off to DHEC and they report it back to us and we report it back to patients," Gerfin said.
The phone number for Clarendon County residents to schedule an at-home COVID-19 test is 803-460-7228.
Richland County, however, offers at-home testing in emergency situations only.
The county says if residents dial 911 for a medical emergency and believe to be experiencing coronavirus symptoms, EMS personnel are trained to perform a test.
In a statement to News19, Richland County spokesperson Beverly Harris wrote, “residents are encouraged to go to a testing site, but if someone calls 911, an evaluation will be made whether to dispatch an ambulance to transport the person to a medical center or to send an EMS triage officer who can administer the COVID-19 test.”
Officials say patients get a call with their test results in 36 to 48 hours.