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8.17.2020 Montgomery County Continues to Develop New Testing Plan

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Montgomery County Continues to Develop New Testing Plan After State Announces Formal Cease and Desist Directive and Order for AdvaGenix Laboratory

Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and County Health Officer Dr. Travis Gayles announced that the County will continue to pursue new testing options after the Maryland Department of Health issued a cease and desist directive and order to Rockville-based AdvaGenix, the largest current supplier of COVID-19 tests and lab analysis for the County government operated test sites.

On Thursday, Aug. 13 the County announced that it was suspending test at County-sponsored clinics until further notice. Testing at these clinics was designed to serve asymptomatic individuals, which was part of the County’s efforts to expand access to testing for residents.

The County continues to provide testing to symptomatic individuals using existing partnerships with other labs. Residents with symptoms should call the Testing Helpline at 240-777-1755 for more information.

Clinics using AdvaGenix tests were held at these locations:

  • ‣ PlumGar Recreation Center, Germantown, 19561 Scenery Dr. in Germantown
  • ‣ Mid-County Community Recreation Center, 2004 Queensguard Rd. in Silver Spring
  • ‣ Silver Spring Civic Building, 1 Veterans Pl. in Silver Spring
  • ‣ Takoma Park Community Center, 7500 Maple Ave in Takoma Park
  • ‣ Wheaton Library and Community Recreation Center, 11701 Georgia Ave in Silver Spring
  • ‣ White Oak Community Recreation Center, 1700 April Ln. in Silver Spring

The County contracted with AdvaGenix in late May to provide self-administered oral swab tests for testing frontline workers, nursing home staff and residents and the general public. Since then, more than 18,000 tests have been completed, which represents approximately 8 percent of the nearly 261,000 COVID-19 tests that have been administered to residents since the being of the pandemic. 

The State will provide 5,000 kits per week for the next month. In addition, the County is pursuing other suppliers to obtain tests that will enable testing to resume as soon as possible. 

Individuals who have been tested in the last two weeks through County-sponsored sites are advised to get additional testing to confirm their results. Because COVID-19 testing is a point in time test to determine presence of the virus at time of testing, others tested may also wish to be tested again. County officials generally advise residents to be periodically tested for presence of the virus.

Residents with appointments for any of the upcoming testing clinics are being notified of the cancellations.

In addition to County-sponsored testing, there are more than 25 testing options provided community-based organizations. The State’s testing locator enables a user to search by zip code, or type of testing (drive thru or walk up).