Howard County Opens New COVID-19 Testing Site For County Employees
ELLICOTT CITY, Md. (WJZ) -- Howard County on Tuesday announced the opening of a new COVID-19 testing site to serve as many as 15,000 county employees and their families.
The new testing site, operated by Ally Health, will be located at the Roger Carter Community Center. Hours of operation are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, and 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Howard County Executive Calvin Ball acknowledged the current capacity for COVID-19 testing is limited, saying the new site will serve many essential workers who need "quick and effective testing."
"We know that testing is so vital to fighting this pandemic, and our actions today are a critical step to keep the essential services we rely on open and safe," Ball said.
The site's opening comes as the county has seen key COVID-19 metrics reach all-time highs, including a 27.8% positivity rate, 185 cases per capita and more than 4,000 new cases in the past week.
"I'm appreciative because this is really quick and easy," one visitor said.
The testing site will offer both PCR and rapid tests to county employees and their families.