“We are looking at a location near Selma Road and Sunset, that would be an area within the 45505 zip code, that’s the targeted zip code that we have,” Patterson said.
According to data from the CCCHD, as of Friday, the 45505 zip code had the highest percentage of positive COVID-19 cases in the county. Nearly 23% of all total cases in the county come from residents within that zip code.
Because of the large number of cases within that zip code, Patterson said the district wants to make the pop-up clinic “as walkable as possible.”
“We are trying to make sure that we get it in a walkable location for many people, for people who may not have been able to make it to our other clinics,” Patterson said.
In July, the district and the City of Springfield held three free pop-up testing clinics throughout the county. More than 2,000 people, over half of whom were Clark County residents, received a test.
Of the 2,278 people tested, 2.7% tested positive for the virus, according to CCCHD data.
After the three clinics, the district pulled back on mass testing events, Patterson said, because of how long it took residents to receive results.
“The last clinic that we did it took nine days to get the results back,” Patterson said. “It doesn’t do much good to test somebody when we get the results and we can only isolate them for one day. It doesn’t do a lot of good in stopping the spread of the disease.”
Patterson said the state uses a different laboratory now and is able to return results to residents within two or three days, guaranteed.
“It works well,” Patterson said.
Until details of the pop-up clinic are announced, COVID-19 testing is available at five locations in Clark County: MercyCrest, 30 W. McCreight Ave. Suite 110 in Springfield, Rocking Horse Community Health Center, 651 S. Limestone St. in Springfield, New Carlisle Family Practice, 432 N. Main St. in New Carlisle, New Carlisle Community Health Center, located at 106 N. Main St. in New Carlisle and Home Town Urgent Care, 38 S. Burnett Rd. and 1301 W. First St. in Springfield.
Clark County had 1,394 cases, 25 deaths and two probable deaths of the coronavirus as of Friday afternoon, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
Ohio reported 120,124 total cases and 4,105 deaths of the coronavirus on Friday, according to ODH. Between Thursday and Friday, the state reported 1,296 new cases and 29 new deaths — both of which are above the 21-day average of 1,021 for cases and 22 for deaths.
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