FRANKLIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — A line of cars snaked through the Williamson County Health Department parking lot Saturday, as hundreds of people looked to take advantage of free, drive-thru COVID-19 testing.
The effort was one of 22 drive-thru testing events across the state on Saturday. The push comes days after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced plans to expand the state's testing.
"We encourage every Tennessean who isn't feeling well or who has come into contact with some one who has had COVID-19 to get a test," Lee said in a media briefing. "When in doubt, remember, when in doubt, get a test."
"We're testing anybody who drives through today whether they have symptoms or not, whether they live in Williamson County or not," Hannah Bleam, a spokesperson for the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency said during the county's testing event.
"We've seen several hundreds vehicles, people were waiting before we even opened to get in line and get prepared to be tested," Bleam explained. Officials said those lines are encouraging, because more testing means more information.
"When people get tested we have more data to work off of to figure out how we should make decisions as a community," Bleam said. "If we know our numbers, we can see the speed of the spread, or the lack of speed of the spread, and that can again help us make decisions."
There are more drive-thru testing events around the state on Sunday. The full list of times and locations can be found on the Tennessee Department of Health website.
