COLUMBIA, S.C. — Lines of cars wrapped around the DHEC parking lot off of Bull Street Monday as folks living in Columbia waited to get tested for COVID-19 following holiday gatherings.
Dozens are getting in line after they have been gone over the Christmas weekend.
"This is definitely an uptick," COVID test recipient Corey McGrath said. "It is full swing again, so there's probably 120 cars here right now."
"We're here semi-frequently since we have a preschooler, and we want to protect everyone in our class, and I've never seen it like this before," Marilyn Scharnhorst, mom of COVID test recipients said.
"I had gone to Christmas dinner with my best friend since I was ten-years-old, went over, had a nice dinner with about ten of his family and turns out that five have COVID, so he said go ahead and get tested," McGrath said.
"I have two little ones who keep getting what could be colds or who knows and we want to make sure we don't spread it to anyone else since they're too young to be vaccinated," Scharnhorst said.
The residents in line said they can't find at home tests or that they feel the price isn't worth the dollar amount - that it's more convenient to hop in the car and let professionals do it.
DHEC has a map of testing locations on its website here. You just have to click on testing locations, enter your zip code and find a site near you. You can also scroll down to find a list of sites, hours or operation and appointment information.
But if that isn't an option for you, you can get at home COVID-19 tests on Amazon that can be shipped to your front door within a few days, or you can find them at your local pharmacy.
Some allow you to mail off your swab to a lab and receive results in 3–4 days, while others provide results within 15 minutes at home.
The most important thing is making sure your at-home test is legitimate.
We checked with Prisma Health for guidance on what to look for when selecting an at-home test. Dr. Helmut Albrecht said several COVID-19 at-home tests have been given emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Be sure to choose one that is authorized. All at-home COVID-19 tests should state whether the authorization for use has been granted or not.
Just to double check, you can click here for a full list of vetted at home COVID-19 tests.