[blueash]

Lots of confusion in these posts. You CANNOT get a test for active infection by going to quest or labcorp. Their staff is not trained in how to collect a deep nasal sample. If someone else collects a sample their labs will accept it and run it. They will not allow you in their lab

From Quest's website

Additionally, patients who suspect they have COVID-19 are being directed to contact their doctor or an authorized healthcare provider for testing information and not come to Quest patient service centers.

How the test works: Your doctor or healthcare provider will collect a specimen through a nasal or throat swab. The specimen is then sent to Quest laboratories for processing using either our lab-developed test, a Roche-developed test, or a Hologic-developed test.

Labcorp has similar information. If you want to know if you are actively infected you must get a nasal swab. Most doctor's offices are not doing it, again training. You can go to several chain pharmacy drive up facilities, appointments are required. In that situation they do not take the sample, rather they give you the swab to do your own. Do you believe you are capable of sticking a swab fully into the back of your nose until you gag and getting an adequate sample? A positive test is useful, a negative may be from a poorly collected sample.

There is no such thing as

There is an antigen blood test at the pharmacy by the new Villages hospital in Brownwood for $30. Results in a few minutes.

Antigen is a test for the viral organism itself, or active disease. The blood test is for antibodies which may evidence that you had an infection in the near past. There are concerns about the reliability of the blood tests as there are both false positives, saying you have antibodies when you don't, and false negatives, suggesting you never were infected but you were.

Many commercial insurance companies have liberal policies on Covid testing including waiving copay, coinsurance, and deductibles. So even if you have an unmet $3000 deductible they may pick up the cost of Covid testing

THIS WEBSITE will give you up to date information on your company, listed alphabetically. I would however certainly call the 800 number to verify before getting a test out of curiosity.

So why do people stand in line to get tested? Because it may well be the only local way to get the nasal test properly done without also incurring a doctor office or ER visit bill and wait.

The Sumter Co DOH does do nasal testing on symptomatic patients in their Bushnell location only, by appointment.

They also are running two nasal swab collection community testing events, no symptoms required but an appointment is, in Wildwood for a total of 6 hours on Jul 20 and Jul 22

Wildwood Community Center COVID-19 testing | Florida Department of Health in Sumter

So that is the answer to why people stand in line for testing. There are not other options that entail less time or effort. I would strongly encourage people who go to that kind community screening events to wear a mask and social distance. You can be nearly certain that you are going to be exposed to Covid in that environment.