Popular Goshen COVID-19 testing site shuts down amid decreased demand

 

GOSHEN, Ind., --- The Center for Healing & Hope shut down its popular drive thru Covid-19 testing site at the Silverwood Mennonite Church in Goshen, as demand for testing slows drastically.

The site ran ran by the center in partnership with the Elkhart county and state health department said they've provided nearly 70-thousand tests since they began, but now they say they’re just seeing less than 20 samples a day.

On Thursday, the community came together to recognize the center that’s provided free drive-thru COVID-19 testing since 2020, but as demand slows, the organization joined other local testing sites who decided to shut down for the time being.

Just months after a statewide spike in cases, the center said people have largely stopped coming to its drive thru COVID-19 testing site here at the church.

At the beginning of the year, Elkhart county reported more than 10,000 COVID-19 tests a week.

Since April, the once hard hit county hasn’t reached 1,500 and testing has significantly dropped across the entire state.

Experts have linked that to scaled back reporting protocols, increased vaccine accessibility, and at-home tests being widely available.

“We know that we don’t have the kind of demand that we used to have and at-home tests are readily available and doctors’ offices have tests readily available and so we feel like it’s time for us to pivot back to our core mission that we’ve had for the last 23 years and that’s to serve people who have barriers to healthcare,” added Missy Schrock, Executive Director  Center for Healing & Hope

The center said it will continue offering COVID-19 testing on an individual basis at its clinic location to people with limited access to tests, and anyone uninsured.