COVID-19 positive test rate rises to 27% at ECU Health testing site

GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) - Though COVID-19 deaths are down, cases are on the rise in central North Carolina.

But how are things looking in Eastern Carolina?

ECU Health’s COVID-19 testing site off Wellness Drive in Greenville had less than a dozen cars in line Thursday.

It was an incredible contrast to how things looked at other testing sites in Eastern Carolina during the Omicron surge in early 2022.

However, Dave Harlow, ECU Health senior vice president, says many folks have still been stopping by the site lately. In the past seven days, 139 people have been tested at the site. The positivity rate of those tests is 27%.

“I need to put that into perspective,” Harlow said. “Because that’s only on 139 tests and there are a lot of folks still doing at-home tests and things like that. That might not be as insightful as when everyone was going through the drive-through and getting PCR tests.”

On Wednesday, WRAL reported that COVID-19 cases increased by 42% in the Wake County area. Harlow says urban areas typically spike first and then rural areas follow.

“Because folks from Greenville go to Raleigh obviously,” Harlow said. “They don’t live there, but there’s a lot of interchange between road and travel, that sort of thing. So that’s how we kind of see that mirrored later on.”

Harlow added that if you haven’t been vaccinated, it’s still the best way to protect yourself.

The COVID-19 testing site off Wellness Drive in Greenville is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

If you need a test kit, the nonprofit CAREE is offering them for free. For more information, visit here.

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