HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — After a holiday weekend put a damper on demand for coronavirus testing, long lines returned to sites across Arkansas Wednesday, especially for free procedures.
At a "pop-up" drive-thru event at the Forest Lakes retirement community in Hot Springs, many of the 200 patients expressed surprise at the convenience and relative comfort COVID-19 testing has become.
"Much easier than I thought," said Tom Maddox, who pulled up in a pickup hours after his wife relayed how easy getting her test had been. "I'd heard that they take these long [swabs] and go right back into your sinus cavity, but it was very simple."
"The response has been really good," said Jeffrey Slatton, who oversaw the event for his medical non-profit Healthy Connections. "People have been really positive about it and interested in what their status is."
In Little Rock, a free test site at a Walgreen's drugstore off University Ave. backed up traffic in the area hours before it opened at 9 a.m. In both places, there has been a shift in the reasoning among the people being tested, going from curious to concerned.
"In the beginning, I think it was people who were just interested just to see what their status was," Slatton said. "We're starting to see more people who maybe don't have symptoms, but feel like they may have been exposed somewhere."
Among the people waiting for tests in Hot Springs, a few needed results to plan upcoming trips.
"I tested once about 3-4 weeks ago, and I'm going to go visit my grandchildren soon and I want to make sure I'm safe," said Grier Corry, who had his nostrils swabbed while sitting in a golf cart.
Slatton says supplies are good, at least for his group. They're prepared to do about 600 tests a week as they go around the state, with Malvern in the hot zone of Hot Spring County next. A surge in cases will make things tight, but manageable, and hopefully enough to ease fears for those worried about the inconvenience.
"It doesn't appear that this is going away anytime soon, so I would expect we'll be able to keep going," Slatton said.