Well, I’ve done it again. I’m going back to Hawai’i. So, I need another covid test. Back to the Walgreens on line site to book an appointment.

I got this email:

Hi David,

You’re eligible for COVID-19 drive-thru testing based on the information you provided under current state and federal guidelines.

We’ve requested a lab order on your behalf and we’ll email you a confirmation with appointment details shortly.

THIS IS NOT A CONFIRMATION. Please do not go to the testing location until you receive the confirmation email.

Edit appointment › Cancel appointment ›

Seek medical attention immediately if you experience severe shortness of breath, continuous pain or pressure in the chest or persistent fever greater than 102°F. If at any time you feel like you are having a medical emergency, please call 911.

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Then later that same day, I received this email:

Hi David,

Here are your COVID-19 drive-thru testing appointment details
BRING THIS EMAIL TO YOUR APPOINTMENT.

Confirmation #:

sgYZkTQWz7

Date: Saturday, January 16, 2021

Time: 04:45 PM

TEST: RAPID DIAGNOSTIC TEST (ID NOW

________________________________________________________________________________

So, at the appointed time on the 16th, I showed up at Walgreens. This time, it was set up in the parking lot away from the drive thru. There were two guys standing under the tent/canopy talking. Both had masks on. I drove up. Signs all over saying to stay in the car, and keep windows rolled up tight. The younger one motioned for me to roll down my window.

I rolled down the window. While standing 15 feet away, he asked me if I had an appointment for a covid test. I said “Yes”.

He said, “Roll your window up and place your drivers license against the window.” – I did. He came over to the car and read my drivers license info through the window glass.

He looked through his box of files and found my info. He handed this to the other guy and motioned for me to drive on a few more feet. I did. The other guy had a pile of little blue trays about 6″ wide, and 10″ long, and 4″ tall. He placed a piece of paper in a half roll into the top tray with the two ends ot the paper sticking up on both sides of the tray. Then he placed a paper envelope about 2″ wide and 5″ long into the loop created by the paper. He then placed the tray on a cart, and motioned for me to roll down my window. He stayed 15 feet away from the car.

He asked, “What is your name and birthdate?” Kind of dumb since the other guy just got that info off my driver’s license less than 10 feet away, but, OK. I’ll play your little memory game.

“David Andersen. Eleven, five, fifty six.” I said. He looked down at the paper the other guy had given him and nodded. Great. I passed! He then told me to roll up my window. I did. He pushed the cart over to the car right next to my window and retreated 15 feet away before motioning for me to roll down my window.

He then proceeded to tell me to lift the paper roll from the tray. Open the little envelope from one end – kind of like a large bandaid paper envelope – and take out the swab. Grab the swab with the cotton sticking up and twirl the cotton part around in one nostril for 15 seconds. Then do the same in the other nostril. He would time me. he looked down at his watch and said, “OK, GO!”

I twirled. Right nostril first. Fifteen seconds, later he said, “OK! Now the other one.”

I twirled in the left nostril. Fifteen seconds later he said, “OK. Nowplace the swab back in the envelope with the cotton in first. Then place it back into the blue tray.”

I did just that. He said, “You’ll receive an email within 24 hours with the result.”

I gave him a thumbs up and pushed the cart away from the car. He said, “Now roll your window back up”

I drove home.

Less than six hours later, I got this in an email:

Your results are available!

You can now access the results of the lab testing you did with Walgreens. You will need to enter your date of birth to confirm your identity.

Patient Name: David Andersen

Requisition Number: 61217763

VIEW RESULTS

Walgreens has partnered with PWNHealth to provide you with convenient access to diagnostic lab testing.

Pressing the VIEW RESULTS button, I got my results:

Test Result Details

ORDER #61217763SPECIMEN COLLECTION DATEJanuary 16, 2021RESULTS RECEIVED DATEJanuary 17, 2021TESTSCOVID-19 LAB PDFPATIENT FRIENDLY PDF

EDUCATIONAL INFO

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: ABOUT CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019 (COVID-19)WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: CORONAVIRUS DISEASE (COVID-19) OUTBREAKFREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONSSummaryCOVID-19COVID-19NegativeYour results do not detect SARS-CoV-2. A negative test means that the virus was not present in the sample you provided.

Your results suggest you were negative at the time of testing.*

*Although the possibility is low, a false negative result should be considered if you have had recent exposure to the virus along with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

______________________________________________________________________________________

GREAT! Good to go! Now I need to go to the “Safe Travels Hawaii” website, register, upload a recent photo of myself and the pdf of my negative test results. Then whthin 24 hours of traveling, I need to go online to this same site and answer their health questions – Are you currently experiencing . . . Have you recently come into contact with . . . . etc. . Then, I should get a bar code that I will need to show them when I get to Hawaii.

Welcome to the new world! Our new existence. It won’t be long until we will be required to do this in order to go to the grocery store.