August 14, 2020 Mobile COVID-19 testing open all next week at Lake Charles Civic Center

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Aug 14, 2020 - Throughout next week, mobile testing for Region 5 will continue at the Lake Charles Civic Center from 8 a.m. until noon from Monday, August 17 to Friday, August 21. 

Mobile testing uses trucks and equipment operated by the Louisiana National Guard to bring testing kits to neighborhood locations such as schools, community centers, fire stations and other local neighborhood locations.

Symptoms of COVID-19 include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

Region 5 Office of Public Health continues to communicate with local officials to ensure ongoing community access to testing. Additional community testing facilities and partners are listed at ldh.la.gov/coronavirus/ under the Community Testing Centers tab.

Test site details

• Testing is open for any Louisiana resident 16 years of age and older with valid Louisiana identification.
• Each testing site will be conducted as a drive-thru test site.
• Once on site, those being tested will need to wear a mask and stay in their cars for verification of eligibility criteria, ID check and self-administered test. Walk-up testing is not preferred due to safety concerns, but walk-ups will not be turned away.
• The site will use a self-administered nasal swab test that will allow those being tested to swab their own nose on site while in their vehicles, observed by a trained medical volunteer to ensure the sample is taken correctly, and drop the sealed sample into a container on their way out of the drive-thru site.
• Once received, the Office of Public Health will contact those who were tested to communicate their results and share any necessary information.
• While awaiting results, individuals who have been tested should follow CDC guidelines and take steps to help prevent the virus from spreading to people in their home and community.

Save the number 877-766-2130 in your phone

Anyone who receives a call from 877-766-2130 is urged to answer, as the call is from a contact tracer who will keep an individual's information private. Personal information is used to quickly identify anyone a COVID-positive individual may have been in close contact with to help contain the spread of the coronavirus. Everyone called by a contact tracer is advised to watch themselves for signs of illness for 14 days from when they first came in contact with the COVID-19 person.

If a resource need is identified through the contact tracing interview, the case is flagged for follow-up from a resource coordinator social worker who can connect individuals with resources including medication, masks, food assistance and even help locating alternative housing.

If someone calls from a number other than 877-766-2130, claims to be a contact tracer and asks for personal information, hang up immediately.

For information from the Louisiana Department of Health on COVID-19, click here.