COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The shortage of testing is an ongoing concern in the fight against coronavirus.
Now, there is a new option in Franklin County that could help thousands of people.
Thursday, Kroger opened its first drive-through testing center in central Ohio.
"They never get out of the car, it's all drive thru," said Hope Hill with Kroger. "They are self-administering a nasal swab, and that is both overseen and ordered by a Kroger health practitioner."
It is the first such site locally that's open to the general public.
Previously, only those with a doctor's order could get a test.
This site, at the Franklin Park Conservatory, doesn't require a doctor's order or insurance, and is completely free of charge. An appointment is needed.
"Just getting people the information, that's really how we can combat all of this is having the information: if we're positive, if we're carrying," said Hill.
Among the more than 300 people getting tested Thursday, were John and Tasha Kashubeck. He's an emergency room doctor, and she's a nurse practitioner.
"It's nerve-racking," he said. "I've described it as every patient room you walk into it's like playing Russian Roulette. You just have no idea. We've had exposures. I've recently gotten my letters that 'you took care of this patient' kind of thing, and in the household we've had couple people with fevers within last week. That became very scary for us. So we thought we would go and get tested."
Even as front line health workers, they say it's the first opportunity they've had to get a test.
"If I would have had symptoms, I would have been tested, but without symptoms, no," he said.
Dr. Mysheika Roberts is the Columbus Health Commissioner.
"Testing is vitally important for us to understand where we are in this pandemic locally, and the more people we test, and the more cases we identify, we can isolate those individuals and we can quarantine anyone who's been exposed to them," she said. "Really the availability of test kits and all the supplies that go with it, as well as PPE, that's what's holding us back."
"It's all very important," Kashubeck said. "And all these people who are saying it's a plan or a plot or a trick or a scam, they don't have any idea what they're talking about. If they would just see one patient up front for real, they'd know what it's really all about."
Kroger says it has the ability to test about 1,000 people per week at the site.
But because of limited supply, you have to make an appointment online, and they are prioritizing high-risk people.
People needing a test will use a virtual screening tool based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to see if they are eligible. Those who are eligible for the testing include CDC Priority 1, 2 and 3. Criteria for testing include persons with COVID-19 symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath) who:
- Are healthcare workers
- Are first responders (EMS, fire, law enforcement)
- Are 65 years of age or older
- Are critical infrastructure workers with symptoms
- Have a chronic health condition (heart disease, lung disease or an immune-system-lowering condition, such as diabetes)
- Experience mild symptoms and live in communities with high numbers of COVID-19 hospitalizations