Centre County’s COVID-19 testing site sees hourslong wait times amid omicron concerns
Those seeking a COVID-19 test at the AMI testing site in Centre County should dress warmly, bring a book and use the bathroom beforehand as they could wait in a long line.
The Department of Health’s COVID-19 testing site for the general public in State College is available through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare. The free, walk-in site is located at the Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority, 253 Transfer Road, State College, and is open 10 a.m.- 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
The site can do up to 450 tests each day, Michelle Mitinger, clinical lead at AMI, said. Every day for the past three weeks, the site has maxed out. The lab that processes the tests can only handle a certain amount of tests and the Centre County site isn’t the only site it handles, she said.
Some days the site has had to shut down early because it reached 450 tests before the planned closing time.
“We’ve had to shut down ... as early as six o’clock and normally, we try to stay open until seven if we don’t reach our max, but I’ve had to shut down at six o’clock and of course people are upset by that but there just are limits,” Mitinger said.
COVID-19 testing sites across the country have seen increased demand during and after the holidays, and with the rapid spread of the omicron variant.
Tuesdays are typically the busiest days at the Centre County site, Mitinger said, and the wait time this past Tuesday was between 45 minutes and three hours. Cars could be seen waiting to get into the parking lot and people waited in a long line outside of the site.
“Everybody thinks that if they show up early, they’re going to get out of there sooner. Unfortunately, you’re just going to wait in a longer line,” she said. “I’m not going to dissuade people from showing up early because you obviously will get in and get tested before we reach that 450 mark.
“I suggest to people that they bring a book and dress warm because the line outside could be long, and go to the bathroom before you come because you could be gone a long time.”
She asks that people have grace and patience because, like any other business that is suffering right now, they also have people who are out sick or taking care of family members. Generally, people have been understanding and haven’t been too upset about the wait time, she said.
As for the wait for test results, the lab has 72 hours but in some cases, it may be sooner. She tells people to treat symptoms how they normally would and to continue using a mask until they get their results.
“We encourage vaccines because they do help,” Mitinger said.
