LEXINGTON, S.C. — Demand to get tested for COVID-19 is skyrocketing.
At a testing site in Lexington, nurses say the lines haven't been this long in months.
"It's nuts. We're so busy now," said Karen Humble, an RN helping operate a free drive-thru COVID testing site at the Lexington County Health Department Friday.
Throughout the afternoon, cars wrapped around the site.
"Probably about a month ago, we wouldn't even see 20 cars come through here," said Humble. "Over the last three weeks, our numbers have tripled."
DHEC operates both vaccine and testing sites across the state every day, free of charge. They hosted Friday's clinic in Lexington.
"We had more vaccinated people come thru than anything else," said Humble. "Vaccinated and kids."
One of the vaccinated was Tammy Collins, said she's getting a test following a recent exposure.
"I had COVID in December, got my shots in March and now I've been exposed to family members that had COVID," said Collins.
With the daily case numbers reaching a 6-month high in South Carolina, paired with the Delta variant, DHEC health experts said this week it's imperative to mask up, get vaccinated and get tested.
"We're seeing a much more transmissible variant in the community and in a community that's not fully-protected that has relatively low vaccination rates, to be frank. So I think we're going to continue to see the numbers go up among the most vulnerable in our community, among the unvaccinated and among children," said Dr. Jonathan Knoche, DHEC Medical Consultant, in a virtual press conference Wednesday.
Getting tested or booking your appointment to get the vaccine against COVID-19 are free.
The Moderna and Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccines are currently available for people 18 and older, and the Pfizer vaccine is for ages 12 and up.
To find a testing site near you, click here.
To locate a vaccine site near you, click here or call 866-365-8110.