No More COVID Drive-Thru

Testing moving indoors.

I'm george mallet./// first tonight... drive?

"*thru covid?

"*19 testing at graham park will be coming to an end.

Kimt news three's anthony monzon is live outside the testing facility with how officials are planning to pivot their coronavirus testing strategy.

Anthony?

George... the graham park testing site has conducted over 60?

"* thousand tests since it opened in march... and public health experts say it's been a major asset in keeping coronavirus numbers down in olmsted county.

But with harsh winter weather just over the horizon... officials are choosing to move... all testing indoors.

They'll instead be opening two new park?

"*and?

"* test locations.

Will be run by mayo clinic... and the other by olmsted medical center.

Now at one point officials did consider winterizing the drive?

"*thru location to keep it open... but ultimately understood it just would not have been the best use of "if you can imagine zero degree wind chill, zero degree tempuratures for extended periods of time, that would result for us in order to keep people safe, needing to close down a drive?

"*thru site.

In te midst of that, you can imagine a minnesota winter where that could extend easily past a week.

We cannot afford to go that long without having testing available in our community."

And in addition to opening these new facilities... public health officials also announced starting in december... they'll begin testing people for the flu along with coronavirus and it won't need a second sample to do so... it'll all be done with one swab.

Live in rochester... anthony monzon... thank you anthony.

And the last day of drive?

"* thru testing at graham