Curbside virus testing set for today

Residents who want to get a drive-thru swab test for COVID-19 can do so today until noon at the Health Hut, located at 310 West Mississippi Ave.

The clinic has partnered with Louisiana Department of Health and the local health department to offer the test to the public, Health Hut Clinic Administrator Beau Burton said Wednesday.

The Health Hut did 65 of the curbside tests in Grambling on Tuesday and began offering them in Ruston on Wednesday.

“It surprised us, with the large amount (of people), much higher than we expected,” Burton said.

Those wanting the test must bring identification and their insurance card, if they’re insured.

Results are typically available in two to five days, Burton said.

The curbside testing comes as both the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lincoln Parish and death toll continues to rise.

As of noon Wednesday, the Louisiana Department of Health reported 115 known cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the novel coronavirus, and 13 deaths.

That’s eight more cases and one more death than recorded on Tuesday. The eight-case jump is the biggest in almost two weeks.

However, that doesn’t mean all of the new cases or the additional death happened from one day to the next.

Instead, it indicates a continued lag in LDH reporting plus new positive cases discovered as a result of ramped-up testing required as part of Louisiana’s entry into Phase One of the Opening Up America Again economic revival plan.

The total cases also include an unknown number patients who have recovered from the disease.

So far, more than 1,000 Lincoln Parish residents have been tested for COVID-19, according to LDH.