A free, drive-thru, non-invasive COVID-19 testing event will take place at Edmonds-Woodway High School from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 8. This event was originally planned to take place at Edmonds Food Bank but has been moved to Edmonds-Woodway to provide additional space. The Verdant Health Commission and Medical Teams International are coordinating the event, with support from the City of Edmonds.

No pre-registration is needed, however there will be approximately 300 tests available. To allow staff adequate time to set up, please do not arrive prior to 9:30 a.m.

The testing is open to anyone in the community, however the goal is to ensure access for residents with barriers to testing in other locations. For instance, while this is a drive-thru event, community members without a vehicle may walk in. For the safety of patients and staff, no more than 10 people will be able to be in line for walk-up at a time.

The high school, located at 7600 212th St. S.W., Edmonds, will have traffic flowing one-way through the school parking lot, with vehicles entering from 76thAve. W and exiting at 216^th St. SW. Uniformed police officers will be present to help prevent traffic from backing up onto the street. See map for details.

In the parking lot at the school, signage will be posted to indicate wait times for participants in the vehicle line up. Vehicles will not be allowed to line up on 76^th Ave. W. If the parking lot is full people will be encouraged to come back later. While Verdant and Medical Teams have made adjustments to decrease wait times for testing, we appreciate residents’ patience during this event.

This testing event is intended to reduce barriers to testing, including symptom checks, insurance requirements, and access for people with transportation challenges.

• It is possible to have COVID-19 and not be symptomatic, which could result in unintentionally spreading the virus to others, so this event does not require the person tested to have symptoms.
• This event is free to everyone, regardless of insurance coverage. If you have insurance, please bring your insurance card, as providing that information will preserve grant funds to cover the costs for those without insurance.
• While this is a drive-thru event, walk-ups will be limited and are available to support people traveling by bus or foot.

Medical Teams staff will register each person from their vehicle. For infection control purposes, clients will not touch the registration paperwork. Please bring your ID and health insurance cards if you have insurance.

Tests are sent to the University of Washington and results can easily be accessed online with a code that is provided at the testing site. Test results are available two to five days after the test, however results may be available in as soon as 24-48 hours.

The testing method used is anterior nasal swabbing, resulting in less discomfort than other methods. About 1 cm of the swab is inserted into one nostril at a time and rotated for about 10 seconds. The test is safe for anyone age 2 and older.

To learn more about these events, contact Jennifer Piplic, director of marketing and communication at Verdant: jennifer.piplic@verdanthealth.org or 425-582-8600.