Free COVID-19 testing is coming to Waikoloa on Saturday thanks to a partnership between Premier Medical Group and Waikoloa Elementary and Middle School.
The pop-up testing drive-through will be held at the school’s parking lot from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Students may walk up for testing with a school ID, preferably with a parent, but if a parent is unable to attend they will not be turned away so long as they have a signed consent form that can be downloaded from at https://www.waikoloaschool.org. The form can also be picked up this afternoon at the school’s front office.
All community members are encouraged to be screened. No appointment is necessary and no one will be turned away.
Community members are asked to bring an ID and insurance card, although insurance is not required to be tested.
Premier Medical Group has been holding pop-up screenings on the Big Island and Oahu since March.
“We need to find the clusters of asymptomatic patients and isolate them because they can pass the virus to others,” said Premier Medical Group President and founder Dr. Scott Miscovich in a July interview with West Hawaii Today. He explained that the virus has a five- to six-day incubation period and approximately 40% of those infected are asymptomatic. “This is how the state and county needs to address it.”
He added they are not going to stop this process until there are no active cases.
As of noon Friday, there have been 279 cases of COVID-19 reported on the Big Island, 117 of which are still active and being monitored by the Department of Health. Statewide 7,830 cases have been reported.