GALLATIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Gallatin High School parking lot was slammed on Sunday as hundreds came out to be tested for COVID-19. This comes as public testing across Tennessee expanded to 22 locations this weekend.
Hundreds of people showed up from 9a.m. to noon, Bruce and Susan Rhodes were two of them.
Rhodes said, “We heard the officer say it was guna be a couple hours, so I went to Kentucky Fried Chicken to get us something to eat.”
There were several lines at Gallatin High School where people were getting swabbed in their vehicles. “I was surprised at how many people were here, but we waited until after church,” Rhodes said.
Roughly 820 people were tested outside Gallatin High School according to Sumner County Emergency Management Director Ken Weidner.
Weidner said, “I’m sure some people may not like the wait time, but with this many people wanting to get tested, it’s just a process that we’ve got to run through.”
He said the National Guard went to get more tests, and had to call out more people to help. “This will probably give us an uptick in numbers.”
Sheila and David Leath came to get tested for COVID-19 even though they’re not symptomatic.
Leath said, “Peace of mind.”
Several people in line were in the same boat.
“We want to make sure in a week or two we can get back around our families,” Leath said.
Others wanted to make sure they weren’t asymptomatic.
Bruce Rhodes believes everyone should be tested, “To get ahead of the curve.”
If you didn’t get tested today in Sumner County, test centers will be open on Monday in Gallatin, Hendersonville, and Portland according to the emergency management director.
