Oxford Conference Center to host drive-thru COVID-19 testing site

Published 10:56 am Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Lafayette County will host its first drive-thru COVID-19 testing this week.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) and the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) will hold drive-thru testing at the Oxford Conference Center from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. This will be the first drive-thru site set up in Lafayette County since COVID-19 cases were reported in Mississippi on March 11.

Testing will be available by appointment-only. Appointments can be made through the CSpire Health UMMC Virtual COVID-19 Triage telehealth app on a smartphone, or by calling 601-496-7200. Anyone experiencing symptoms related to COVID-19, including fever, cough, shortness of breath or sore throat, who feels they should be tested are encouraged to make an appointment.

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Those who have an appointment scheduled will be asked to provide a specimen sample, via a nose swab, without exiting their vehicle at the testing site.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency and the Mississippi National Guard are partnering with UMMC and MSDH to coordinate the testing sites.

Since the mobile testing sites began, over 759 Mississippians at 20 one-day testing sites statewide, plus another 2,492 at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds, have been tested.