Georgia Coastal Health District

The Coastal Health District has scheduled additional COVID-19 testing events in several locations throughout the district. The schedule is posted after the photo below, and is subject to change based on the supply of testing kits.

The first “pop-up” testing events were held May 5th in Camden and McIntosh Counties. Each event lasted three hours, and nearly 300 specimens were collected between the two sites.

COVID-19 testing through the Coastal Health District is free and anyone who wants a test can be tested, even if they have no symptoms. No appointment is needed for these mobile testing sites.

Call the Coastal Health District’s COVID-19 Testing Call Center at 1-912-230-9744 with questions. The center takes calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The existing specimen collection sites in Savannah, Richmond Hill, and Brunswick will continue to serve clients from all areas by appointment only. Click here for more information about the Coastal Health District COVID-19 Testing Program.

Upcoming Mobile Testing Site Events

Note: Schedule is subject to change based on the supply of testing kits.

Check here for upcoming Testing Site Events.

Atlanta – Governor Brian P. Kemp, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) urge all Georgians to continue to follow safe daily habits to reduce our risk of exposure to COVID-19 and keep the virus from spreading. Wear a face covering in public settings, practice social distancing, and wash your hands frequently.

A cloth face covering should be worn whenever people are in a community setting where social distancing may be difficult such as in the grocery store or picking up food at a restaurant or riding public transportation, and especially in areas of widespread community transmission of COVID-19. Cloth face coverings help slow the spread of the virus and help people who may be infected and not know it from transmitting it to others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has easy to follow instructions on how to make a low-cost cloth face covering.

Cloth face coverings should allow for breathing without restriction, cover the nose and mouth and be laundered and machine dried after use.

Cloth face coverings should not be placed on children under the age of 2, or anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

The use of cloth face coverings does not take the place of social distancing. Stay at least 6 feet from other people, do not gather in groups, stay out of crowded places and avoid mass gatherings.

Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol) when soap and water are not readily available. Practice good health hygiene covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

For more information about COVID-19 visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

The Coastal Health District is expanding its COVID-19 testing program, now offering appointments on Sunday afternoons at its drive-through specimen collection sites in Savannah and Brunswick. Appointments are available 7 days a week.

You do need an appointment for testing, but the process is simple – just call the Coastal Health District COVID-19 Testing Call Center for a brief telephone screening. If you meet the criteria, you’ll be referred for a test, and can often get an appointment the same day.

The Testing Call Center number is 1-912-230-9744, and the center takes calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The criteria for COVID-19 testing was recently broadened, and now most people will qualify for a free test through the health department. Anyone with symptoms can be tested, and symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell. Many people without symptoms can also be tested based on where they live or work.

To adequately staff the specimen collection site in Savannah, the Health Department will shift most clinical services from two locations in Chatham County to one. The midtown clinic at 1602 Drayton Street will temporarily discontinue general clinic services and immunizations, and those appointments will be shifted to the clinic at 1395 Eisenhower Drive. The clinic on Eisenhower Drive is located on an established bus route with Chatham Area Transit for individuals without transportation.

All Health Department services are currently by appointment only. If you need an appointment for something other than COVID-19 testing call your local county health department. Click here to access contact information for all counties.

The Coastal Health District will offer free COVID-19 testing closer to home for residents in some rural areas of coastal Georgia. A mobile specimen collection center will visit the following locations for one-day testing opportunities:

• Tuesday, May 5, 8:30-11:30 am. at Cornelia Jackson Memorial Park, 201 15th Street in Woodbine
• Tuesday, May 5, 1-4 p.m. at the McIntosh County Health Dept. at 1335 Hwy 57 in Townsend
• Thursday, May 7, 8:30-11:30 a.m. at the Shuman Gym Parking Lot at James Brown Park, 800 Tupelo Trail in Hinesville
• Thursday, May 7, 1-4 p.m. in the Smiley Elementary School parking lot, 1530 Georgia Hwy 57 in Ludowici
• Friday, May 8, 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Effingham County Public Library parking lot at 810 Georgia Hwy 119 in Springfield

COVID-19 testing through the Coastal Health District is free and most people will qualify for a test. It takes about 5 minutes to swab your nose for the test, and results are available in a few days. No appointment is needed for these mobile testing sites.

Call the Coastal Health District’s COVID-19 Testing Call Center at 1-912-230-9744 with questions. The center takes calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The existing specimen collection sites in Savannah and Brunswick will continue to serve clients from all areas by appointment only. Click here for more information about testing for COVID-19 through the Coastal Health District.

Wondering if your sore throat or headache are allergy-related or something more? Or are you a critical workforce employee, concerned you could be infected but have no symptoms? You can get tested for COVID-19 by the Coastal Health District for free. It takes about 5 minutes to swab your nose for the test, and in a few days, you’ll have your answer.

The capacity for COVID-19 testing in Georgia has greatly increased in recent days. Test kits are more plentiful, and laboratories can process more tests.

Anyone with symptoms qualifies for a test, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently expanded the list of common COVID-19 symptoms. Now in addition to fever, cough, and shortness of breath, other common symptoms include chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell.

If you have any of these symptoms, call the Coastal Health District’s COVID-19 Testing Call Center at 1-912-230-9744 to schedule a free appointment for testing. The center takes calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

You must have an appointment for testing at one of the public health drive-through testing sites. Appointments are available every weekday and on Saturday mornings.

As of April 25, 2020, the Coastal Health District had collected nearly 1,100 specimens for testing.

The Coastal Health District has confirmed that a resident of Glynn County and a resident of Camden County have died from complications of COVID-19. These are the first COVID-19 related deaths in both counties.

The Glynn County resident was a 76-year-old male. It is not currently known if he had underlying medical conditions.

The Camden County resident was a 45-year-old male with underlying medical conditions.

Statewide, more than 840 people have died from COVID-19 and more than 21,000 people have tested positive for the illness. There is community-wide transmission of the virus that causes COVID-19 across the state.

Georgians of all ages should practice social distancing as much as possible. Avoid unnecessary contact with people outside your household, wash your hands often, and isolate yourself from others if you become sick.

For more information about COVID-19 in our area, visit covid19.gachd.org.