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Jefferson Parish to start drive-thru coronavirus testing for first responders, healthcare workers

The first tests will be open to first responders such as EMTs and police officers, and employees working at healthcare facilities.

JEFFERSON, La. — Jefferson Parish will start drive-thru testing for first responders and medical employees with coronavirus symptoms Saturday. 

Parish President Cynthia Lee Sheng said the testing station would open at 8 a.m. Saturday at the Alario Center in Westwego. The first tests will be open to first responders such as EMTs and police officers, and employees working at healthcare facilities. 

To be tested, those who meet the criteria must be showing symptoms similar to those reported in coronavirus patients. Healthcare workers and first responders will need employee identification to be tested. 

The Louisiana National Guard will man the testing site; they are already operating a handful of other drive-thru testing facilities in the metro New Orleans area. 

The testing site is part of a federal pilot program spanning four cities, including the New Orleans area. 

Lee Sheng said testing would open soon to more people, but said it wasn't clear when that would happen. She cited constraints on the number of testing kits and other medical supplies as the largest hurdles. 

RELATED: New Orleans drive-thru coronavirus testing open for first responders, medical staff

The two New Orleans sites opened Friday. One is in the Mahalia Jackson Theater and one in the parking lot of the UNO Lakefront Arena, according to a statement from the City of New Orleans.

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