Mobile testing sites are coming to several high schools in Lake County, including Mundelein, Lake Zurich, and Round Lake, after a recent COVID-19 outbreak in the Lake Zurich area, officials said.
The drive-thru testing sites will be managed by the Illinois Department of Public Health and are free to everyone.
“We ask anyone who has recently been exposed to a potential or confirmed COVID-19 case to please get tested, even if you are not experiencing symptoms,” said Dr. Sana Ahmed, Medical Epidemiologist for the Lake County Health Department.
“If you have no symptoms, it is best to wait 5-7 days after your exposure to get tested, since the virus can take several days before it can be detected in the body. If you have symptoms, however, please seek testing right away and call your doctor,” Ahmed said.
The site at Lake Zurich High School will be open to students and staff from 9-11 a.m. on Sunday, July 19 in the school’s Performing Arts Center parking lot. It will be open to the general public from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The Lake Zurich site will also be open on Monday, July 20, and Tuesday, July 21 to everyone who wants to get tested.
The site at Mundelein High School will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 22, and Thursday, July 23 in the parking lot off of Midlothian Road.
The site at Round Lake High School will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, July 24, Saturday, July 25, and Sunday, July 26 in the student parking lot off of Idlewild Drive.
“Those locations were not chosen due to outbreaks associated with the schools. We have fielded many requests from residents and local leaders to have testing brought to these areas,” said Hannah Goering, a spokeswoman for the Lake County Health Department.
“The outbreak identified at the start of the Lake Zurich athletic camps goes beyond students at just that high school, it’s indicative of a larger outbreak in the community and surrounding areas,” Goering told Lake and McHenry County Scanner.
The Lake County Health Department has been working with the state to identify locations in more central and western Lake County where the mobile testing site could be stationed.
Currently, the only state-run community-based testing site in Lake County is located at 102 West Water Street in Waukegan.
“Our priority is that residents across the county have convenient access to testing. The Mundelein and Round Lake schools were eager to provide their venues to expand testing in their communities,” Goering added.