Starting Wednesday, Jan. 6, residents will be able to get free COVID-19 tests in the parking lot at Edmund’s Oast, located at 1081 Morrison Drive. Frontline workers from the Medical University of South Carolina will administer PCR tests from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. every Wednesday for the foreseeable future “as long as participation stays up,” Edmund’s Oast owner Scott Shor said.
Edmund’s Oast, Butcher & Bee and Raven Cliff Co. — a real estate company that owns the Half Mile North mixed-use development Edmund’s Oast and Butcher & Bee call home — are all involved in the project, but the effort to collaborate with MUSC to offer weekly tests was spearheaded by Shor.
MUSC has been administering weekly screenings for Edmund’s Oast employees, and Shor approached Butcher & Bee partner Michael Shemtov and Raven Cliff Co. owner Stephen Zoukis with the idea to offer free testing in the Edmund’s Oast parking lot, and they were all in.
“The concept was to present a facility in an easy-to-ascertain location for F&B folks,” said Shor, who wanted to make the testing free with no advanced registration because he’s found online registration to be a deterrent for some individuals. “Testing is still too complicated, and not everyone can go or has insurance to cover testing.”
Although the program was geared toward the hospitality industry, the general public is welcomed to show up during the four-hour window with identification. Insurance is not required — those who are insured will be asked to provide their information but will not be billed, Shor said.
“MUSC is the one bringing all the magic, and we’re providing the facilitation,” he said. “We’re not anticipating any significant wait times, but if turnout is so great that wait times are a thing, it means that people are using the facility and it was needed and wanted.”
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