Thursday, December 10, 2020

Drive-through COVID-19 Testing in Renton, WA - My Experience

I woke up yesterday with a lump in my throat and chills. I'm prone to ear infections this time of year, but I couldn't be too cavalier with my in-laws (in their 70s) in the house.

I went online and requested an appointment. Renton Drive Through COVID-19 Testing

I selected that I had symptoms, and it came up with an appointment the same day. I arrived 20 minutes BEFORE my appointment.

This is what was required:

  • Driver License or state issued ID
  • Insurance Card - not sure what happens if you don't have insurance
  • The email confirmation of showing the appointment
  • Face mask or covering
The site previously served as some kind of mechanic shop with 4 bays. There was also a large tent with two more bays. Each bay served as a drive through. It is behind a car dealership, and the GPS tried to take me through the dealership. Realizing the dealership probably wouldn't allow hundreds of cars through their lot daily, I continued down the road. On the corner was a small sign saying "covid testing this way". I followed the signs, all of which are small, to the testing site.

I waited in line, and was eventually met by a friendly lady who asked to see the email confirmation for my appointment. I saw many people being turned away without that confirmation email. You can print it out if you don't have a cell phone. However, the test result notification is sent via text/sms, so you really should have a cell phone number you can give them to receive the result notification.

After I showed the lady the email, she directed me to one of 3 lanes of cars waiting for testing. After a few minutes of waiting, I made my way to another lady who asked my name and asked to see my ID and insurance card, both of which I held up for her to inspect. She typed some information in her pad and told me to continue waiting in my lane. Once I reached the front of the lane, another lady directed me to one of the 5 bays using finger signals for the bay number she wanted me to go into.

I pulled into the designated bay and waited. Eventually, a lady came up to my car door and asked me to roll the window up most of the way. Then she asked for my ID and Insurance card again. She asked me questions about my symptoms. She went away and came back with a piece of paper with a QR code, which she slipped into the small opening in the window. She directed me to wait until the car in front of me finished, and to pull forward. She also put a sticker on my window.

When I pulled forward, the next lady in the bay asked for my name and date of birth. She explained that this would be a self-administered swab, explained how I would perform the swab, and handed me the swab. She asked me to roll the window up, pull my mask off, swab around deep inside each nostril, and hand it back to her.

She took the swab, put it in a plastic container, pulled the sticker off my window and put it on the plastic container. She thanked me for coming and directed me out the front.

All-in-all, it was a good experience. I think the signage directing traffic to the testing site wasn't great, but it worked. As I pulled up for the swab, the lady actually ran in front of my car. She seemed panicked about something. I slammed on the brakes, and she gestured an apology. I also find it strange that this was the only drive-through testing site on the east side, if you can call Renton the east side. The only other option was Sea Mar clinic in Bellevue, but you have to see their doctor before they give you the test, and that requires two different appointments. Sea Mar's first appointment was a week out, and that was just to see the doctor. Remember that when the woke brigade complains about "rich white people" using SCAN home delivery.

Edit: 12/7/2020 at 9:47 AM
I received a text message early this morning saying my test results were ready. This was less than a day turn around. I clicked the link and typed in the code from the piece of paper they provided at the testing site. It required me to download a pdf to view the results (not ideal for mobile phones). I viewed the pdf, and saw the result: negative. The paperwork said if I had been positive, I would receive a call to follow up. I'm usually quite skeptical of government, as the road to hell is paved with good intentions. However, King County seems to have done a good job building a robust testing system. The next time we have to write out the property tax checks, I won't be quite so irritated.

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