Richland County Free Community Testing

A collaborative effort has been established between Richland County Emergency Management, Richland County Health & Human Services, and the Richland Hospital Clinic to offer ongoing FREE COVID-19 community testing events.

A FREE COVID-19 drive-thru community testing site will be offered Monday, September 21st and every Monday through the end of the year from 9am-1pm at the Richland County Fairgrounds.  Individuals will have to be a Richland County resident and meet specific testing criteria.  Tests will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis for the following:

• Individuals in need of a test for employment purposes.
• Families in need of a test for school.
• People who have had close contact (within 6 feet of an infected person for at least 15 minutes) with someone with confirmed COVID-19, regardless of symptoms.
• People who have been asked or referred to get testing by Richland County Public Health, regardless of symptoms.
• People who have been instructed by a health care provider to get a COVID-19 test for the purpose of infection control, regardless of symptoms.
• People who have recently developed any one or more of the following symptoms:
  • Fever, defined as a measured temperature greater than 100.4°F
  • Subjective fever, for example if a person feels unusually warm to the touch, or reports sensations similar to previous experiences of fever
  • Cough
  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
  • Sore throat
  • Headache
  • Chills or rigors (repetitive shaking chills)
  • Myalgia (muscle aches)
  • New loss of taste or smell
  • Nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea
  • Nasal congestion or runny nose

The collaborative partners will continue to evaluate the needs of the community and may offer additional community testing events in the future.

Richland County Public Health staff will follow-up on all positive test results. This may occur approximately 3-5 days post event. Please feel free to call Richland County Health & Human Services at 608-647-8821 with any questions.

Note: This is a test to determine whether you currently carry the active virus; it is NOT an antibody test to tell if you previously had the virus.