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High-capacity drive-through Covid-19 test site planned at Penn State Hershey

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. (Source: Penn State Health)

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. (Source: Penn State Health)
Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. (Source: Penn State Health)

Penn State Health's Hershey Medical Center in Dauphin County will host a high-volume drive-through site for Covid-19 testing, acting Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said Thursday.

The facility will be able to serve about 1,000 people a day, Klinepeter said. It will be funded through the federal government and staffed by U.S. Health and Human Services contractors, with support from Penn State Hershey.

An opening day, operating hours and other details have not yet been announced.

Klinepeter said the Penn State Hershey site was picked based on ease of access and "proximity to socially vulnerable populations. A southcentral Pennsylvania location was considered appropriate due to the region's high population and the intensity of the current coronavirus surge.

Penn State will be eligible for reimbursement through the Federal Emergency Management Agency for costs it incurs in connection with hosting and supporting the operation, the state Department of Health said.

The site is part of the federal government's Increasing Community Access to Testing initiative, or ICATT. A drive-through ICATT center opened Thursday at Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital in Delaware County, serving Pennsylvania's southeast region.

Lancaster County's health systems, led by Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health, relaunched a drive-through Covid-19 testing site last Friday, Jan. 14, at the Lancaster County Public Safety Training Center. Currently, appointments are required and testing there is limited to patients with symptoms.