Louisville opening drive-thru COVID testing site at Churchill Downs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Churchill Downs will host a centralized drive-thru COVID testing site for Louisville beginning Monday.

Mayor Greg Fischer made the announcement on Thursday. He said the omicron variant of the virus is creating an "immense" pressure on the hospital system, and "if we don't take adaptive measures, it's going to be worse."

The city is partnering with Bluewater Diagnostics to open COVID testing to the public at the racetrack beginning Jan. 10. The six-lane testing clinic will run Monday through Saturday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. It will be in the Orange Lot of Churchill Downs.

Pre-registration will be required to be tested. You will need a government issued ID and an insurance card, if you have one. Both rapid and PCR tests will be available. Results should be expected within 48 to 72 hours.

The Churchill Downs testing site will maintain a line dedicated to the testing of public safety employees. Fischer said "it will make it easier to keep them safe and on the job.

To sign up for a COVID test, go to: my.primary.health/l/churchilldowns

The city is working to set up a second testing site in west Louisville. An announcement is expected soon.

COVID-19 tests remain in high demand as people head back to work and school, and with that high demand, testing sites are having to adapt.

Louisville Metro's COVID dashboard includes information about additional vaccine and testing sites. To learn more, click here.

Outside of Louisville, the Kentucky COVID dashboard includes information to find testing sites: Click here.

The Kentucky site also includes links to find a site to get the COVID vaccines: Click here.

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