Shield Testing

Officially beginning on January 18th, Unit 4 schools will be offering a Covid testing site! The site will operate on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 3:30pm-6:30pm, perfect to get in a test right after school. It will be held at Centennial high school’s north parking lot, and will be offering saliva testing. With these kinds of tests, it is important to remember that there are protocols in place to better the accuracy of the test. You must refrain from eating, drinking, brushing your teeth, using mouthwash, chewing gum, tobacco, and chapstick a full hour before administering the test. To take the spit test, you must produce 2 ml of spit, which will fill up to a line on a test tube.You will be provided with a funnel or a straw to project your saliva into the test tube (gross, I know! Make sure to keep your distance when taking your test).

To preface, it is faster to register in advance on the provided app but is not necessary. As well as you can use the app to keep updated as results come in. You can download Safer Illinois or Shield Il on apple and google play stores for free. You can schedule appointments as well as keep up to date on lab results. According to civilians in line at a similar testing site at the YMCA: “dress warm, sometimes the wind will start to kick in. I went there and the line was out the door and well down the sidewalk, and another where I walked right in and did the test. You can administer the test to yourself in the warmth of your car, but it is the waiting in line that may take a bit. Also, side note, it takes more spit than you would expect. It will take multiple goes to fill it to the amount you need”. Another civilian took a test at a different U of I location. They said, “it took 2 hours to get tested. And when I went in it took awhile at the start, then got faster. If you get queasy around spit, don’t do this around others”. With the YMCA you will mainly be outdoors, as well as a partially insulated pavilion. Dress warm for both the Y and the U of I testing sites. The U of I location depends on the time as a civilian said they have waited outside for up to 45 minutes outside then another 45 minutes inside. The U of I is in a proper building so once you are inside it is much more pleasant.

If you are looking for different testing sites (with different hours) here is some information on other sites.

Sundays: 10am-3pm at U of I-CRCE

Monday: 8:30am-11:30am at Parkland (Building E, park in lot B5) and 1:00pm-4:00pm at U of I-CRCE

Tuesday: 8:30am-4:00pm at Parkland (Building E, park in lot B5)

Wednesday: 8:30am-11:30am at U of I-CRCE and 1:00pm-4:00pm at Parkland

Thursday: 8:30am-4:00pm at U of I-CRCE

Friday: 9:00am-3:00pm at DACC in Danville

Saturday: 10:00am-3:00pm at Parkland

YMCA- located at the north pavilion: 6am-8am and 4pm-6pm. Monday through Friday.

As always, stay safe and watch your symptoms!