LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Right now, a lot in downtown Louisville may seem like just an empty parking lot filled with bright orange cones and signs, but it will soon be home to a UofL Health consolidated outpatient COVID-19 testing site. Drive-thru lanes are marked and the tent is set up on Brook Street between Ali and Liberty.
Just hours after WHAS11 received a tip this was being set up, Governor Andy Beshear announced Kentucky is getting its first drive-thru COVID-19 testing site, but he didn't provide a location.
"We're going to start hopefully on Monday with a single location that'll be for very specific individuals that are showing symptoms," Beshear said.
This came just hours after UofL confirmed they were taking steps to protect their health providers and other patients. Sarah Moyer, with the Metro Department of Health, also confirmed the latest.
"So UofL is consolidating all of their testing to one site so all the testing that they were doing clinics, they are consolidating to the site at Brook and Liberty," Moyer said.
Beshear explains this first site is going to be a proof of concept, and if successful, will grow. He says they believe there will be at least a couple more open by next week to limited populations at the start.
UofL Health's statement resembles the message from the governor that this will start very limited.
"UofL Health will begin operating a consolidated outpatient COVID-19 testing site for our healthcare system at the corner of Brook and Liberty.
Access to this lot is available by appointment only, and limited to established patients of UofL Health. Directing our high risk symptomatic patients to this central site accomplishes three important priorities: keeping potential COVID-19 patients from spreading the disease to other patients and staff at provider offices, consolidating our testing resources, and the preservation of PPE. As more testing resources become available to our community, we hope to increase testing availability to others in the community.
Those experiencing severe symptoms, that best qualify hospital level care, should still seek care at an emergency room."
"That is the protection that the healthcare providers need in order to do this COVID-19 test," Moyer said.
While there is no confirmation as to when this site here downtown will open, UofL, Beshear said today the first drive-through testing site is a partnership he is hoping to announce tomorrow.
►Contact reporter Jessie Cohen at JCohen@whas11.com and follow her on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.