Concerns about possible covid exposure draw people to mobile testing site in Tarentum

Scores of people lined up in the rain outside a church in Tarentum on Monday for free tests to determine if they have been infected by the coronavirus.

A number of the people who went for tests at First United Presbyterian Church on Lock Street said they did so because they or a close family member was feeling ill or may have been exposed to somebody who has covid-19.

Becky Raab of Harrison said she decided to have her 8-year-old unvaccinated daughter tested after she got a fever and a sore throat.

“If she tests positive it was probably from being exposed to it at school,” said Raab. “It could be covid, a cold or something else, but we want to be sure so we’re getting her tested.”

Raab said while she has not experienced any symptoms, she, too, is getting tested because she has not been vaccinated.

A woman from Allison Park who declined to give her name said she brought her 10-year-old daughter to the Tarentum church because she couldn’t find a test kit at any of the pharmacies she checked.

“She’s not feeling well, so I decided to bring here here for a test,” she said. “I think it might just be a cold, but I want to be sure that it’s not covid.”

A New Kensington woman who also declined to give her name said she brought her 15-year-old daughter to the test site even though she tested negative for covid using an in-home kit.

“Our family is all vaccinated but my daughter may may have exposed at school where we know there are people who have not had the vaccine,” she said. “She’s getting the second test so we can be sure that the home test was accurate.”

Michel Sauret of Springdale said he brought his wife and one of his sons in for a test after they started feeling ill and he was unable to find a kit to test them at home.

“It concerns me that I checked several pharmacies in the area and all of them were sold out of tests,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s a matter of people stockpiling them like they did with toilet paper during the shutdown or if there’s a shortage of tests available.”

A rise in the number of covid cases involving the omicron variant has led to long lines at area testing sites, including those provided by Curative Inc., which is operating Allegheny County’s mobile testing program that travels to various locations each week to conduct testing.

The county does not currently have any additional mobile testing sites scheduled for the Alle-Kiski Valley. But there are nearly a dozen other upcoming mobile testing sites along with four fixed sites that are open seven-days a week except holidays.

The fixed sites are at the Parkway Center Mall, the Carnegie Museum in Oakland, at the Chartiers Valley Shopping Center and in McKeesport.

There is no out-of-pocket cost for the test, and it is available regardless of insurance status, according to Allegheny County officials.

Residents who have health insurance should bring their insurance cards.

Test results will be available one or two days after the lab receives the tests.