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Hamilton County to begin drive-thru COVID-19 testing with 4 deaths, 50 cases

Staff photo by Wyatt Massey / Christy Botts, clinical manager at Physicians Services, stands outside the clinic in Cleveland on March 29 waiting to swab someone for a COVID-19 test.
Staff photo by Wyatt Massey / Christy Botts, clinical manager at Physicians Services, stands outside the clinic in Cleveland on March 29 waiting to swab someone for a COVID-19 test. Staff photo by Wyatt Massey / Christy Botts, clinical manager at Physicians Services, stands outside the clinic in Cleveland on March 29 waiting to swab someone for a COVID-19 test.

By Sarah Grace Taylor 4 min read

For answers to frequently asked questions about the coronavirus, click here.

Hamilton County announced its first community COVID-19 screening site Tuesday, the same day the county hit 50 known cases and confirmed its fourth local death from the novel coronavirus.

According to the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department, patients referred by the department or a physician can be tested at a drive-thru county emissions testing site beginning Wednesday.

After weeks of criticism for slow testing, the county has had two major strides in the past week, first the announcement of the first local testing facility and now this, the area’s first community screening facility.

“This drive-thru testing is an extremely important component to bringing back some normalcy to the community more quickly and also to minimize the danger to our community through more testing,” County Mayor Jim Coppinger said at a news conference late Tuesday.