Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020 | 7:15 p.m.
An additional COVID-19 testing site is opening for anyone who wants a free test as cases continue to surge, according to Clark County officials.
The drive-thru site at Texas Station’s parking garage will open Friday and operate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday through Monday.
No appointments are required as crews will test anyone on a first-come, first-served basis, said officials, noting that asymptomatic and symptomatic people, including children, are welcome.
The site — which is a collaboration among the Southern Nevada Health District, University Medical Center, the Nevada National Guard and North Las Vegas officials — is located at 2101 Texas Star lane, near Rancho Drive and Lake Mead Boulevard.
Those testing, who must provide photo identification and a phone number, will drive up and are required to wear masks throughout the process until they’re instructed to remove it so a clinical staffer could swab their mouths.
Depending on demand, results will be processed in one to two days and can be accessed at southernnevadahealthdistrict.org/lab-results.
Sites at Cashman Center and the Thomas & Mack Center’s Pavilion Room also continue to offer free testing.
The UNLV site opens from Sunday through Thursday, and the Las Vegas site, 850 Las Vegas Blvd. North, near Washington Avenue (in the Exhibition Hall A), operates Tuesdays through Saturdays.
"Testing continues to be a crucial part of our efforts to minimize the spread of COVID-19, and I'm grateful to see that Texas Station will once again serve as a convenient location for people to get tested," said North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown in a news release. "If you have not been tested, or believe that you need to be retested, please do so as soon as possible. The pandemic isn't going away, so we need everybody's help to manage it: keep wearing face coverings in public, maintain social distances and wash your hands frequently."
The announcement of the new site comes a day after Gov. Steve Sisolak asked Nevadans to stay home for the next two weeks as COVID-19 continues to surge.
At least 1,590 coronavirus deaths have been reported in Clark County since the pandemic arrived in mid-March, according to Nevada figures. Confirmed cases here were nearing 91,000.
“We need to work together to encourage anyone with symptoms to get tested and to stay home if you are sick,” said Clark County Commissioner Lawrence Weekly, who also chairs the University Medical Center Board of Trustees. “We also need everyone to continue practicing all the measures that we know limit the spread of viruses including regular handwashing, wearing face coverings in public places and social distancing.”
“Now is not the time to let our guard down. All of us need to do our part to limit the spread of COVID-19 until a vaccine becomes available,” wrote Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick, who also chairs the Southern Nevada District Board of Health, in the release. “We also need everyone to get a flu shot if you haven’t already because we want to prevent our local hospital system from being hit with a surge of COVID and flu patients this fall and through the winter months.”
