COVID tests becoming more difficult to find due to Omicron surge

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BATON ROUGE - It was a packed house Monday at the Southdowns Urgent Care on the corner of Perkins and Lee. Rapid and PCR tests were available, but wait times were up to four hours.

Just north off Corporate, the Orion Labs drive-up site was empty. 

"There's no wait if anyone wants to come in," President Rachael Slaughter said. 

The location at Towne Center will cost you more than $100 if you don't have insurance, but the privately owned lab partnered with LDH to offer free testing at both LSU and the Leadership Institute on Hooper Road.

"I think Sunday at both locations it was about 500 people. So today it was probably double that I would think," Slaughter said. 

Last week, every testing site in EBR ran out of rapid tests, and many locations still don't have any.

CVS and Walgreens are all out. You can go on their websites to find locations doing regular testing.

All Ochsner locations have both rapid and PCR tests, but wait times are long, and you must be symptomatic to get a rapid test. Our Lady of the Lake currently just has PCR.

The peak hours at all sites seem to be in the morning.

"Earlier today, this location here in Towne Center was booked with two lanes of drive-thru all the way to Corporate and Jefferson Highway."

Free COVID testing has been extended from Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Louisiana Leadership Institute, 5763 Hooper Road in Baton Rouge. You can schedule online here.

You can find a full list of testing sites here. Make sure to call ahead.