MetroHealth has joined UH and the Cleveland Clinic today in the ability to test for the coronavirus, though its service doesn’t come with the convenience of a drive-thru.
CEO Akram Boutros said the hospital system hopes to ramp up to about 500 tests a day in the coming weeks. For now, they will concentrate on the critically ill. Results, for those tested today and going forward, should be available in about two hours. A doctor’s order is required to get tested.
UH and the Clinic have opened a second drive-thru testing facility at the Landerbrook Health Center in Mayfield Heights. Both sites, which are technically open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., have been flooded by patients. Today, each reached its limit for the entire day shortly after noon.
Metro told Cleveland.com it has received more than a 1,000 calls to its coronavirus hotline — 440-592-6843 — since late last week.
This article appears in Mar 11-17, 2020.
