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Lowndes County will again host a testing site for those who fit the COVID-19 testing criteria.

The drive-up testing center will be open Friday, April 24, and will be held at the Lowndes County Health Department, located at 507 E. Tuskeena St. The screening will take place from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., and those wishing to make an appointment need to call (334) 548-2564 and also need to fit certain guidelines. The event was originally scheduled for Thursday, but the Alabama Department of Public Health announced Wednesday that due to the forecast of storms on Thursday the clinic date would be changed. In order to be tested, a person must either be referred by a physician or meet a checklist of criteria.

You qualify for testing if you are symptomatic with a fever, cough or shortness of breath and you are age 65 or older; a healthcare worker or a person with conditions that place you at a higher risk. Examples include diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer or other conditions that weaken the immune system.

Health officials note that if you have no symptoms that testing is not recommended. If you have mild symptoms and do not fall into one of the risk groups, it is recommended that you self-isolate at home and call 1-888-264-2256 if symptoms worsen.

Locally, in Lowndes County, 32 cases have been confirmed out of 102 tests. In Butler County as of Tuesday afternoon there were 15 confirmed cases out of 140 tests and the ALDPH hosted a drive-in clinic in Greenville on Tuesday. In Crenshaw County, six cases have been confirmed out of 186 tests. There have been no deaths reported from COVID-19 in Butler, Crenshaw or Lowndes counties.

Gordonville Mayor Orbuty Ozier said she wanted to thank the Alabama Department of Public Health for bringing the tests to Lowndes County and the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and Lowndes County Emergency Management Agency for their work during the pandemic.

“We want to thank everyone for being so cooperative during this COVID-19 time,” Ozier said. “Communities, businesses and faith based organizations have been cooperating in order to slow down and stop the spread of COVID-19 and we want to thank them for their efforts.”

As of Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m., ADPH confirmed that there were 5,181 confirmed cases of the virus in the state out of 48,387 tests performed. Statewide, 176 deaths have been reported with 144 of those confirmed being a result of coronavirus. COVID-19 has also resulted in 699 hospitalizations since March 13.

For more about the COVID-19 pandemic visit the Alabama Department of Public Health website at www.alabamapublichealth.gov