Free drive-through COVID-19 testing and screening clinics will be conducted this week at a number of locations around the Big Island.
Clinics are scheduled from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. today at Pahoa District Park, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday at Waimea District Park and from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday at Kamehameha Park in Kapaau, North Kohala.
The clinics are open to the public, but individuals must first be screened by clinic physicians to determine if they meet the criteria to be tested.
The screening criteria will be based on guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the state’s COVID-19 Response Task Force.
Those who attend a screening clinic will be asked to show photo ID and should bring their own pen and any health insurance cards they have, although insurance is not required.
Antibody testing also will be available at all three clinics, which can determine if an individual previously had COVID-19.
Antibody testing, done with a simple blood draw, will be offered only to those previously identified as having had the coronavirus, or those with high risk of exposure, including health care workers, first responders and family members or those with close contact to known positives.
There is a $43 out-of-pocket cost to people whose insurance plans do not cover the antibody test.
The clinics are hosted by Premier Medical Group, with the support of Hawaii County, HOPE Services and the Hawaii National Guard.
For more information, call Premier Medical Group at 304-9745 or county Civil Defense at 935-0031.
