Starting next week, Nashville will change the hours of the COVID-19 community testing centers to 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the winter months.
Although the Office of Emergency Management installed heaters at the testing sites, the drive-thru facilities are completely outdoors and staff can’t wear warm layers while wearing protective equipment. On days when the wind chill is below 35 degrees only Nissan Stadium will open, while testing at Meharry Medical College and the former Kmart on Murfreesboro Pike will close.
“I would welcome anyone to take a minute to realize for 40 weeks Meharry has been out there in the heat [and] also in the cold weather,” Nashville Fire Department Chief William Swann says.
Metro will do hourly weather analysis to ensure staffers are safe. If the temperature drops unexpectedly, testing centers could close.
On days testing is up and running as planned, residents can continue to get tested for free at all three testing sites.
All of the city’s COVID-19 testing centers will be closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr Day.
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