Wake County COVID-19 Testing Carries on Through the Holidays

Free drive-thru testing offered despite state holidays

COVID-19 won’t be taking a break for the holidays, so neither can testing for the virus. Wake County is providing six sites for free COVID-19 testing through the holidays, with several offering hours on Christmas Eve, the day after Christmas and New Year’s Day.

“There’s no cost, no appointment necessary, no insurance needed, no ID required. In fact, you don’t even need a car to come to our drive-thru testing – walk-ups are just fine!” said Eugene Chalwe, Wake County’s COVID-19 Operations Manager. “Testing is a great way to help curb the spread, so we’re making it as easy as possible.”

This week, Wake County will offer testing at three City of Raleigh parks. On Tuesday and Wednesday, testing will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. On Thursday, Christmas Eve, testing will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Here are the locations:

Except for Christmas Day, testing will be available every day through Saturday at one or more of the following sites, including on Christmas Eve:

After Christmas, our partnership with Raleigh Parks & Recreation will pick back up from Dec. 29–31 and Jan. 4–10 at three new locations:

Testing hours will run for the following hours:

  • Dec. 29–31: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.;
  • Jan. 4: 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.;
  • Jan. 5–9: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; and
  • Jan. 10: 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.


To make this free testing as easy as possible, no appointment, identification or insurance is needed. For the latest testing times and locations, check wakegov.com/testing.

How do we test? Several tents and lanes will be set up in each park, and you’ll pull up in your car. We’ll hand you a short swab, and you’ll be asked to circle it around in the lower part of your nose several times. Then, you’ll put the swab in a vial and hand it back to us. It takes seconds.

How do I get my results? You’ll be given a card with information about how to go online or sign up for an email to get your results. Most results return within 24–48 hours.

Staying Updated
Visit Wake County’s multilingual COVID-19 webpage, which has a set of frequently asked questions to educate residents, a list of COVID-19-related closures and service changes, as well as contact information to ask specific questions.

Also look for important information on Wake County’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.

Department
Health & Human Services
Category
Press Release