Mobile COVID-19 testing set for Union County

The University of Mississippi Medical Center and Mississippi Department of Health will be in New Albany this week to test people for the COVID-19 illness caused by the coronavirus.

They have been setting up one-day, drive-through collection sites around the state.

Testing hours will be from noon to 4 p.m. but only those with appointments will be tested.

Those who want to be tested must first go through a free screening from a UMMC clinician, either through the C Spire Health telehealth smartphone app or by phone. Health officials say the fastest and easiest way to get screened and tested is with the C Spire Health app. It’s available daily from 8 a.m.-8 p.m.

Anyone can be tested who is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, cough, shortness of breath or sore throat; or who has a known or potential exposure to someone confirmed with the virus.

Officials say hundreds of people in Mississippi communities have taken advantage of the UMMC-MSDH drive-through collection sites. Those numbers include, as of the end of the day May 8, a total 1,715 people at 49 one-day testing states statewide, plus 4,005 more at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, for a total of 5,744 tested.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi National Guard are partnering with UMMC and MSDH to coordinate mobile testing sites. UMMC and C Spire have partnered to make the screening free to all Mississippians.

Those without smartphones who want to be screened for testing can call (601) 496-7200.

During drive-through testing, health care professionals will collect specimen samples via a nose swab. Those being tested will not exit their vehicle. For more information about testing, click here.

UMMC is the state’s only academic medical center. Its education, research and health care missions share the objectives of improving the health of the state’s population and eliminating health disparities. Located in Jackson.

UMMC encompasses seven health science schools, including medicine, nursing, health related professions, dentistry, pharmacy, graduate studies and population health. The Medical Center’s health care enterprise includes the state’s only Level I trauma center, only children’s hospital, and only organ and bone marrow transplant program. The Medical Center also is home to a Telehealth Center of Excellence, one of two in the nation.

For more information, visit www.umc.edu.