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People line up for last-minute COVID-19 tests ahead of Thanksgiving

People lined up to get last-minute COVID-19 tests ahead of Thanksgiving.Those who got swabbed said they wanted peace of mind.They told us they want to be safe as they reunite with loved ones.Officials with Gravity Diagnostics estimated they gave hundreds of tests at the location in Florence alone on Wednesday.Those who arrived for a test saw the demand was high."It was just a long line, I didn't realize this many people got tested," Anthony Kopp said.Kopp found himself with plenty of company at a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site in northern Kentucky."Just wanted to make sure I was alright because I was hanging out with family," he said.Gravity Diagnostics has been busy at the Florence Mall location.Jeff Wellens, the director of field services, said on Tuesday they processed about 450 tests at the mall location and he estimated similar numbers for Wednesday."The trends that we saw during last November during the peak of the pandemic, while we didn't have drive-thrus, this is kind of a seasonal event and we see a lot of the same trends unfolding here in the month of November leading up to the holiday season, right," he said.New COVID-19 cases are still prevalent in our region.On Wednesday, Ohio reported more than 6,700 new cases, Indiana reported more than 4,000 new cases and Kentucky reported more than 2,100 new cases.Officials at the testing site estimate at least 1,500 tests were collected on Wednesday from locations in Covington, Fort Mitchell and Florence.Wellens told WLWT the Covington location provides same-day test results while the Fort Mitchell and Florence locations provide results in about 24 hours.It's not just the Thanksgiving dinner driving people to get swabbed."We have tickets to The Aronoff and it's one of their requirements, you either have to be vaccinated or tested and at this point, I'm still researching how I feel about the vaccine. I'm not saying either way, it's just my personal opinion and so this is the only other way we get to see Wicked," Donna Taylor said.In Taylor's case, every test means peace of mind."It's important to me. I don't want to go around anybody if I'm carrying it or if I'm sick. Obviously, my parents are older and my mother-in-law and I want to keep them safe," she said.Officials with Gravity Diagnostics told WLWT they're also expecting another testing rush after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and said they will be prepared for it.They said last week, they surpassed 3 million tests given across all of the Gravity Diagnostics locations.Wellens told WLWT the locations will be expanding hours next week, but the drive-thru locations will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.He also said they've developed a new app that makes it easier to pre-register and speed up the testing process.You can learn more about testing and Gravity Diagnostics here.

People lined up to get last-minute COVID-19 tests ahead of Thanksgiving.

Those who got swabbed said they wanted peace of mind.

They told us they want to be safe as they reunite with loved ones.

Officials with Gravity Diagnostics estimated they gave hundreds of tests at the location in Florence alone on Wednesday.

Those who arrived for a test saw the demand was high.

"It was just a long line, I didn't realize this many people got tested," Anthony Kopp said.

Kopp found himself with plenty of company at a COVID-19 drive-thru testing site in northern Kentucky.

"Just wanted to make sure I was alright because I was hanging out with family," he said.

Gravity Diagnostics has been busy at the Florence Mall location.

Jeff Wellens, the director of field services, said on Tuesday they processed about 450 tests at the mall location and he estimated similar numbers for Wednesday.

"The trends that we saw during last November during the peak of the pandemic, while we didn't have drive-thrus, this is kind of a seasonal event and we see a lot of the same trends unfolding here in the month of November leading up to the holiday season, right," he said.

New COVID-19 cases are still prevalent in our region.

On Wednesday, Ohio reported more than 6,700 new cases, Indiana reported more than 4,000 new cases and Kentucky reported more than 2,100 new cases.

Officials at the testing site estimate at least 1,500 tests were collected on Wednesday from locations in Covington, Fort Mitchell and Florence.

Wellens told WLWT the Covington location provides same-day test results while the Fort Mitchell and Florence locations provide results in about 24 hours.

It's not just the Thanksgiving dinner driving people to get swabbed.

"We have tickets to The Aronoff and it's one of their requirements, you either have to be vaccinated or tested and at this point, I'm still researching how I feel about the vaccine. I'm not saying either way, it's just my personal opinion and so this is the only other way we get to see Wicked," Donna Taylor said.

In Taylor's case, every test means peace of mind.

"It's important to me. I don't want to go around anybody if I'm carrying it or if I'm sick. Obviously, my parents are older and my mother-in-law and I want to keep them safe," she said.

Officials with Gravity Diagnostics told WLWT they're also expecting another testing rush after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and said they will be prepared for it.

They said last week, they surpassed 3 million tests given across all of the Gravity Diagnostics locations.

Wellens told WLWT the locations will be expanding hours next week, but the drive-thru locations will be closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Years Day.

He also said they've developed a new app that makes it easier to pre-register and speed up the testing process.

You can learn more about testing and Gravity Diagnostics here.


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