Need a COVID-19 Test? Just Stop, Swab & Go!
August 26, 2020
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County Commission: Marilyn Kirkpatrick, Chairman Lawrence Weekly, Vice Chairman Larry Brown James B. Gibson Justin Jones Michael Naft Tick Segerblom Yolanda King, County Manager |
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| Office of Public Communications • (702) 455-3546 • FAX (702) 455-3558 • www.ClarkCountyNV.gov | ||||
| Contact: Stacey Welling Sr. Public Information Officer |
Phone: Cell: E-mail: |
(702) 455-3201 (702) 249-3823 stac@ClarkCountyNV.gov |
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| For Immediate Release Wednesday Aug. 26, 2020 | ||||
Need a COVID-19 Test? Just Stop, Swab & Go!
Federal Government to Partner With Local, State Officials to Offer Thousands of Free Drive-Thru Tests Starting Aug. 31
Clark County announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the state of Nevada to administer up to 60,000 additional drive-through coronavirus tests over 14 days at three separate locations throughout the Las Vegas Valley at no cost to individuals receiving tests.
Clark County and state officials requested the additional resources as part of a federal program offering surge testing in COVID-19 hot spots across the country. Appointments are not required at any of the three “Stop, Swab & Go” drive-thru sites but are strongly encouraged. The public can register online for an appointment at www.DoINeedaCOVID19Test.com. Each site will operate Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., Aug, 31 through Sept. 18, providing self-administered nasal swab tests. All three locations will be closed Monday, Sept. 7 in observance of the Labor Day holiday. The tests are free and no proof of health insurance or identification is required. The “Stop, Swab & Go” event will offer drive-thru tests at the locations listed below. The hotel testing sites will be set up in parking garages. The Sam Boyd site will have a drive-thru site set up in its parking lot, and will offer an additional walk-up testing area inside the stadium’s concourse.
- Fiesta Henderson Hotel and Casino, 777 W. Lake Mead Pkwy. in Henderson, 89015
- Texas Station Hotel and Casino, 2101 Texas Star Lane in North Las Vegas, 89032
- Sam Boyd Stadium, 7000 E. Russell Road, 89122
“This is a unique opportunity for our community to do an enormous amount of testing over a short period of time, and we appreciate the White House and Coronavirus Task Force’s leadership in helping to coordinate the HHS surge testing sites in our Las Vegas Valley,” said Clark County Commission Chairman Marilyn Kirkpatrick. “We encourage anyone who wants to be tested whether you have symptoms or not to participate because it will give us the most accurate picture yet of where we are in our fight against COVID-19. The more cases we identify now the faster we can limit community spread and fully reopen our local economy.”
“Widespread testing remains the community’s best defense against COVID-19 and providing a Henderson location gives easy access for our residents,” said Henderson Mayor Debra March. “Additional testing increases our ability to identify those who have been exposed or are experiencing symptoms and will greatly help with our mitigation efforts to stop the further spread of the coronavirus.”
The ”Stop, Swab & Go” testing event will occur in conjunction with other community-based testing efforts offered by Clark County and community partners at Cashman Center and the UNLV Thomas & Mack
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Center Strip View Pavilion and neighborhood strike team testing events. The Clark County Fire Department and the Nevada National Guard are providing logistical support as part of “Stop, Swab & Go,” while the federal government is providing the test kits, sample collection staff, lab capacity, registration and PPE. Five free face coverings will be offered to individuals receiving testing at each location.
“It’s important that we reach those people who might not otherwise get tested out of privacy, cost or financial concerns,” said Clark County Vice Chairman Lawrence Weekly, whose Commission District D includes Texas Station. “These testing locations will cater to everyone, but we especially want to assure everyone it’s safe, private and completely free of charge to them.”
"Testing is the best thing we can do right now to understand precisely how and where COVID-19 is spreading," said North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown, who represents Ward 2, which includes Texas Station. "I'm happy to work with Clark County and our state and federal partners to bring convenient, free testing opportunities to North Las Vegas where our residents, especially African Americans and Latinos, are being impacted in such disproportionate numbers."
The registration website for the “Stop, Swab & Go” event, www.DoINeedaCOVID19Test.com, is managed by eTrueNorth, a HHS program contractor. Registrants will need to provide an email address to be notified when their test results will be available online, approximately three to five business days after their test. To access their results, they will need to set up a username and password on the website. All test results, positive or negative, will be reported to the Southern Nevada Health District. Anyone notified of a positive test result is encouraged to stay home and self-isolate to limit the spread of the virus. The Health District will follow up only with people who test positive for the virus as part of its local contact tracing and disease investigation efforts. Providing a current telephone number as part of the testing registration information for the “Stop, Swab & Go” event is critical to local health district contact tracing efforts.
“COVID-19 testing is an important step in not only keeping people healthy through this pandemic, it’s also critical in helping to keep workplaces safe,” said Clark County Commissioner Jim Gibson, whose Commission District G includes Fiesta Henderson Hotel and Casino. “The people of the entire Las Vegas Valley have demonstrated they want nothing more than to return to normalcy. These additional resources will help us move toward that goal.”
“We want as many people as possible to be tested as part of this special event,” said Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, whose Commission District E includes Sam Boyd Stadium. “It’s an opportunity to identify positive cases and provide support to anyone in our community who may need to stay home until they are no longer at risk of spreading the virus to others without knowing it. We continue to be in this fight together, and through this effort we can show the world that public health and safety is our top priority.”
COVID-19 symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath. People with general questions about COVID-19 can call the health district’s Information Phone Line at (702) 759-INFO (4636), between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Anyone in need of social service support to self-isolate can contact Nevada 2-1-1 for resource referrals. Information about COVID-19 resources also is available in Spanish through the “Esta En Tus Manos” (It’s in your hands) outreach initiative at estaentusmanosnevada.com. The health district has a calendar of testing events in English and Spanish posted at www.SNHD.info/covid. The list includes the upcoming “Stop, Swab & Go” events.
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Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 11th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to 2.3 million citizens and 45.6 million visitors a year (2019). Included are the nation’s 9th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The County also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to 1 million residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.
