Just more than a month after St. Tammany Health System closed its COVID-19 test collection site on Highway 22 in Mandeville, a surge in COVID cases has prompted its reopening.
Effective today (July 21, 2021), the site, at 4410 Highway 22 next to the Tiffany Lanes bowling center, will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Patients can also be tested weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. at STHS’s Paul D. Cordes Outpatient Pavilion (16300 Highway 1085), and weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the health system’s Mandeville Diagnostic Center (201 St. Anne Drive, behind the post office).
In all cases, doctor’s orders are required for a patient to be tested. Symptomatic patients should be sent first to the Highway 22 site and only to the Cordes Outpatient Pavilion or Mandeville Diagnostic Center if the Highway 22 location is closed for the day.
Additionally, all symptomatic patients should remain in their vehicle upon arrival at the testing location, call the number provided to them, then wait in their car until directed into the building by staff.
In early June, when the decision was made to close the Highway 22 testing location, St. Tammany Health System’s COVID-positive inpatient count was in the single digits and the coronavirus appeared to be on the wane.
Since then, however, the arrival locally of the highly transmissible new Delta variant of the virus, along with persistently low vaccination rates, have led to a rapid rebound in cases.
As of Wednesday morning (July 21, 2021), the health system was reporting 34 COVID-positive inpatients in its Covington hospital. The overwhelming majority of them were unvaccinated.
St. Tammany Health System continues to administer COVID vaccines daily at its Express Care walk-in clinic on Highway 21, just south of the hospital. Appointments are available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and should be made via the free MyChart app. Those experiencing difficulty with the app can make an appointment by calling (985)898-4001, which is answered 24/7, although anticipated heavy call volumes may result in a longer-than-usual wait during peak hours.
Visit StTammany.health/COVID19 for the latest information on coronavirus in St. Tammany Parish.