Wolf administration opens new drive-thru COVID-19 testing site in Delco

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A new COVID-19 testing site is opening in Delaware County, Gov. Tom Wolf announced Monday.

The announcement comes as COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rise across the Philadelphia region due to the fast-spreading omicron variant. Nearly the entirety of Pennsylvania, including Delaware County, is seeing “high” levels of COVID-19 transmission, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Wolf has touted COVID-19 testing, in addition to vaccinations and booster shots, as key tools to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus, which has claimed the lives of more than 36,799 Pennsylvanians.

The new drive-thru testing site in Delaware County is located between St. Bernard’s Hall and Friendship Circle at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Yeadon.

To start, testing will be available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Starting Jan. 10, testing will take place Tuesday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The first hour every morning will be reserved for first responders, EMS personnel, and health care workers.

The DOH said it has also applied to participate in a new CDC program, Increasing Community Access to Testing, to respond to the latest COVID-19 surge. Under the program, the department would apply to set up testing sites in southeastern and south central Pennsylvania.

The state in December also asked the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 1 million rapid at-home COVID-19 tests and for an increase in the state’s allocation of monoclonal antibody treatments.