Kemp Announced That Anyone Could Get Tested: I Went To See If It Was True

On Thursday, May 7, the Kemp Administration announced that anyone, even if they had no symptoms, could receive a COVID-19 test. My mom, a state senator, wanted to verify the legitimacy of this by going to get a test herself so that she could relay this information to her constituents. The day after Kemp’s announcement we drove for about half an hour when we arrived at the testing station. My mom and I pulled into the parking lot of a plain building surrounded by the kind of tents you see at weddings. There were several police cars with their lights blinking and officers idling inside. The first stop functioned as the “front desk” part of the process. A woman in a full military uniform and mask approached us and had us roll down the window about an inch so that we could still talk but be safe.  She verified my mother’s information and guided us forward. We turned the corner in the barren parking lot to reveal more tents and stacks of industrial cylinders the purpose of which is still beyond me. We pulled up to another tent, which I snapped a picture of with the camera I brought along with me to document the process. Another soldier came up to us and gave us instructions and a layout of the process. He was wearing a neon vest over his uniform as well as a mask and a face shield. Before we moved on, we were told that I was forbidden from taking photographs. I could only speculate on the reason this was the case. There wasn’t anything they had reason to hide, but possibly it was solely for the sake of giving the medical workers privacy.

We waited in line for about 20 minutes and then pulled up to another stop before arriving at the tent that would test for the infection, like some sort of medical drive-through. The workers appeared to be in two classifications: the doctors and nurses that tested people and entered information into computers and the soldiers of the National Guard that collected that information from patients. After all of my mom’s information was verified for the final time, we moved forward to the last tent where she would get tested.

A nurse with a heavy southern accent walked up and told my mom to “be prepared to have her brain tickled.” She pulled out a thin stick with a swab at the end of it that I estimated to be about 6-6.5 inches long. She told my mom to sit back in her seat and face forward like she normally would. The twig crept up her nose, and I’ll never forget the face my mom made. The only way that I can really describe it was as though she had just been possessed by a ghost. A look of pure shock and uncomfortableness ran over her face. Thankfully in a few seconds, it was over. The nurse said the “brain tickle” line again and my mom looked mildly traumatized, her eyes bulging as if they had just made a 360 degree turn back into her head. We drove off and it began to rain. The entire process took about 40 minutes but the actual testing only took about 2 minutes. While it could have been faster, hopefully as testing continues, it can become more efficient and I have to say, I’m impressed that we were able to get a test, especially with the shortages around the country. It will only become faster and more efficient from here. However, the state just reopened and I think we’ll have another dramatic rise in cases in Georgia so I pray and hope that we can be prepared for that and even a second wave of COVID-19. Four days later my mom received a phone call with her results. She tested negative.