Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health (BBPH) will be conducting a drive-through COVID-19 testing event at the Bismarck Event Center on Tuesday, July 21. The testing event is open to all ages, is first-come, first-served and is scheduled to take place from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., or until testing supplies are exhausted.
Individuals wanting to be tested at this event must enter Bowen Avenue at the Fifth Street intersection and proceed east toward the Bismarck Event Center entrance. The Bismarck Police Department will be managing traffic in the area. There will be no access to Bowen from Seventh Street during the testing event. Upon completion of testing, individuals are asked to travel away from the area via Fifth Street.
“We are excited to provide increased testing availability at this event,” said BBPH Director Renae Moch. “As we go through this process, we appreciate our community’s patience regarding testing supplies. Test availability can be fluid. This is one of the challenges all facilities performing COVID-19 testing throughout the state have faced during this pandemic. Sometimes demand exceeds supply in our area. However, we are optimistic this week we will be able to provide more access to testing for our citizens, and are altering our event hours to give us the opportunity to complete more tests.”
Pre-registration for this event is available at https://testreg.nd.gov/. This process is not required to be completed in order to receive a test, but is recommended to speed up your overall testing event experience. Please complete the entire questionnaire. Pre-registration does not guarantee test availability.
“Completing the registration questionnaire should speed up a few aspects of the overall testing process,” said Moch. “First, it will help cut down on the time it takes to collect demographic information from individuals wanting to be tested. Additionally, it should help cut down on the time it takes to contact individuals with results. If an individual agrees to receive results by email or text, potentially that process removes the responsibility of making hundreds of phone calls.”
There is no fee for the collection of samples and subsequent COVID-19 tests and an individual’s health insurance is not processed. Viral testing will be conducted at this drive-through event, but antibody tests are not available through BBPH at this time. Response times for test results may vary, depending on lab capacity. BBPH is reporting positive results within 24-72 hours, while negative results may take five to seven days.
For ongoing response efforts to the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Dakota Department of Health has established a COVID-19 Hotline to help answer your questions. You may call 1-866-207-2880, Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with questions. Please note that individuals needing specific medical advice should contact their healthcare provider.
For testing event inquiries, as well as questions about other health programs and issues, please call Bismarck-Burleigh Public Health at 355-1540, or you can connect with us through a variety of online platforms. Information is available through social media: via Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. For more info about COVID-19, visit the ND Department of Health website, NDResponse.gov, or CDC website.