Curbside testing for COVID-19 is now available at both Powell Valley Clinic and Cody Regional Health’s Walk-In Clinic.

Powell Valley Healthcare is offering the tests Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for $20. Those being tested don’t even have to get out of their vehicle.

“These tests are a nasal swab that is completed same day in the hospital laboratory,” said Park County Health Officer Dr. Aaron Billin.

A total of four Park County residents — two from Powell and two from Cody — have tested positive at Powell Valley Healthcare since Thursday, Billin said early Tuesday morning. That included a positive test on a Cody man on Moday, he said. Up until the recent positive tests, Park County had seen only two confirmed cases of COVID-19.

June Minchow, director of emergency and critical care services at PVHC, said patients swab themselves for the drive-thru testing — and the tests don’t require the swabs to be pushed deep into the nasal cavity like some tests.

“Those were very unpleasant,” Minchow said.

The drive-thru testing program is a result of an allocation of 500 testing reagents per week from the Center for Disease Control and the Department of Defense, in response to the opening of Yellowstone National Park. Healthcare providers in Jackson are also receiving testing reagents.

The machine being used to test the samples is made by Cepheid, and PVHC had the equipment available previously.

PVHC received an Abbott ID NOW machine from the state in April, but the hospital had a limited number of reagents for the machine. And unlike the Abbott machines, which had a false result 30% of the time, the Cepheid machines are over 98% accurate.

Alysia Kampbell, director of laboratory services at PVHC, said if someone is infected with the new coronavirus, it can take up to 72 hours after infection before the tests will show up positive.

The drive-thru testing “is only for those who have NO SYMPTOMS (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.),” PVHC officials explained in a Facebook post. Those with symptoms are asked to call 307-754-7257 to schedule an appointment with the respiratory clinic.

“If you test positive, a provider will contact you. If negative, you will receive an email within 36 hours,” said the Facebook post. “Please don’t call the hospital or clinic for your test results. We will get results to you as soon as possible.”

Curbside testing is also being offered at Cody Regional Health’s Walk-In Clinic — located at the Cathcart Health Center on Cody’s West Strip — from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Monday through Friday. The cost is $25.

“These tests are a nasopharyngeal deep swab and are sent to the Wyoming Department of Health Lab in Cheyenne,” Billin said. For more information, call 307-578-2903.

(Kevin Killough contributed reporting. This version corrects the time that Powell Valley Healthcare will offer the testing.)