Berkeley Co. libraries giving away free at-home COVID tests

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The Berkeley County Library System is offering free take-home COVID-19 test kits throughout the month of October.

The kits are the result of a partnership between the library system and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

One does not need to be a resident of Berkeley County or show identification to pick up one of the saliva tests. After collecting a sample of saliva, it is shipped for results in a prepaid FedEx shipping label that is included in the kit.

Berkeley County Library System Director Gene Brunson expects the demand for the test kits to be high.

Meanwhile, Roper St. Francis Healthcare’s administrative director for laboratory services says it is crucial that those who use the kits thoroughly read all directions before taking the sample.

“I would say that the most important thing is, first of all, it all starts with the quality of the specimen,” Vanessa Shamrock said. “They all include instructions on how to collect that specimen and it’s very very important that those instructions are followed because the result is only gonna be as good as the specimen itself.”

Library officials began giving out the tests at the Moncks Corner Library, located at 1003 N. U.S. Highway 52 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday.

Berkeley County Library Administrator Laurie O’Tool says they will have more distribution locations Tuesday:

• The St. Stephen Library, located at 113 Ravenell Drive, will give out kids from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. Tuesday.
• The Alvin Community Center, located at 2191 Santee River Road, will give away test kits from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday.
• A mobile library will be giving away at-home test kits in Summerville Tuesday. From 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. the mobile library will be at Dell Webb Charleston at Nexton located at 1261 Del Webb Drive. From 2:45 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. the mobile library will be stationed in Brighton Park Village on Scholar Way in Nexton.

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