The city of Clarkston, a local non-profit medical clinic and other groups are hosting free COVID-19 screenings for local residents experiencing symptoms associated with the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
The Ethne Health testing drives are being held from noon to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
To be eligible for testing, individuals must have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and live in the following zip codes: 30021 (Clarkston), 30079 (Scottdale) and 30083 (Stone Mountain).
IDs will be checked to confirm addresses, according to a Facebook post by the city of Clarkston.
Symptoms associated with COVID-19 include fever; cough; shortness of breath; diarrhea; sore throat; sneezing; runny nose; and body aches.
In addition to Ethne Health and the city of Clarkston, the testing drive is being sponsored by Send Relief, Clarkston International Bible Church, Passion City Church and several other nonprofits.
The testing will take place in the Send Relief parking lot, located at 1000 Rowland Street in Clarkston.
Those wanting to be tested are urged to come alone.
Elsewhere in DeKalb County, Lithonia's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church had planned a similar testing event this weekend but later postponed, citing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's new shelter-in-place order.
It was not immediately clear how Clarkston’s event fit into the landscape following Kemp’s order. A city representative did not immediately respond to an inquiry.
There were, however, at least two main differences between the Clarkston event and the one scheduled at New Birth.
New Birth’s testing would’ve prioritized people exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 but wasn’t limited to them. New Birth, which planned to perform 1,000 tests, was also charging for the service.
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