COVID-19 Testing Supply and Distribution Update

East Wenatchee, WA – With the incredibly high number of positive cases in Chelan-Douglas Counties, and interruptions in supply chains for tests, health care providers and public health are prioritizing testing for symptomatic individuals to help triage and treat illness. Chelan Douglas Health District (CDHD) announced they will continue to scale-down testing at Town Toyota Center. Testing appointments are still required and only available for symptomatic individuals ages two and older.

The following health care organizations have reported their testing inventories are low, and they are only testing symptomatic patients: Cascade Medical, Confluence Health, Columbia Valley Community Health and Lake Chelan Health. All health care organizations currently require an appointment. Appointments can be made by calling their main line.

During this time of limited testing capacity and high community COVID-19 prevalence, the CDHD Health Officer, Dr. James Wallace, recommends individuals assume they have COVID-19 if they are not able to test and are experiencing COVID-like symptoms. Without testing, individuals who are feeling sick should isolate at home for at least five days, or until they no longer have symptoms, including no fever (without taking fever reducing medication) for 24 hours before leaving isolation or returning to work.

Testing Locations & Resources

CDHD
The Town Toyota Center testing site will continue to operate Monday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Pre-registration is available at www.cdhd.wa.gov. CDHD partnered with Community for the Advancement for Family Education (CAF ) to offer bi-lingual assistance for anyone that has technological barriers. Call 509-903-3900 for pre-registration assistance.

COVID-19 Triage Center
Visit Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for a list of COVID-19 symptoms. If you need medical evaluation for COVID-19 symptoms, including difficulty breathing, increased heart rate, a temperature greater than 101 degrees, or severe weakness, go to the COVID-19 Triage Center at Saddlerock EPC Church, 1400 S. Miller Street in Wenatchee.

At-Home Test Kits
In partnership with NCW Libraries, CDHD is offering at-home test kits and masks to the general public in rural areas throughout Chelan and Douglas counties. Due to limited test kits, CDHD recommends calling your local library ahead of time to confirm test kit availability or visit www.ncwlibraries.org for a distribution site near you. Positive test results must be reported to 1-800-525-0127.

In addition, Federal and State governments continue to offer free at-home test kits for households in Washington state. CDHD encourages families to place their order as soon as possible by visiting https://special.usps.com/testkits or https://www.sayyescovidhometest.org/.

CDHD appreciates the community’s patience as we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. For ongoing updates, visit www.cdhd.wa.gov and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.