COVID-19 Testing at Minit Medical on Maui Surges to Over 1,000 per Week

Minit Medical went from testing a couple of hundred people per week in July to testing close to 1,000 this week alone. That does not include testing that is conducted at other sites/providers throughout the county, which are also reporting heavy demand.

Statewide, Health officials also reported a significant increase in testing–going from about 1,000-2,000 per day in July to 8,000-10,000 per day statewide in recent days. “The Department of Health is ramping up testing capabilities on all islands, and they’re planning to announce additional testing resources very soon,” said Deputy Managing Director Josiah Nishita in an afternoon press briefing.

Minit Medical owner, Amanda Prouty said they are getting “tons of requests” and in addition to four testing sites, they are adding two mobile locations each week to help meet demand.

“The County of Maui sponsored the state’s most robust community testing program since the pandemic began and we continue to offer free testing at various locations and times,” said Nishita.

According to Prouty, testing sites are available at the following time and locations throughout the month of August:

• Lahaina: Lahaina Civic Center, Mondays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• ‍Kīhei: 1280 South Kīhei Road (behind Ace Hardware), Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• ‍Kahului: 348 Lehuakona St. (behind Maui Marketplace), Tuesdays and Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

There’s also a mobile site set up this week Friday in Pukalani at:

• Pukalani: Pukalani Community Center (91 Pukalani St.) this coming Friday, Aug. 20 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

A mobile site is also being set up in Kahului on Wednesday this week, but the information was not immediately available for booking on the website.

Those interested in any of the testing sites above must pre-register at https://www.minitmed.com/pre-register-maui-covid-19.

Participants of the Minit Medical sites are asked to come to the test site at their designated time. Patients do not need insurance or meet any criteria to be tested for free. Participants must wear a face mask, and they are urged to come at their scheduled time.

The public is encouraged to check the Minit Medical registration site for availability, usually on Wednesday and Friday, when additional mobile sites are added to the list. The free community testing is only scheduled 10 days out to ensure that tests are available for those that are sick or exposed and need them. The test is not available for those wanting to use it for international travel.

**If a location is full, patients are asked to book for a different location a different day. You CAN NOT go to the Urgent Care Clinics for a FREE Community Test. If you have symptoms or have been exposed and can not get into a FREE testing site you can book a video visit by clicking here. Insurance may cover for exposure or symptoms. If you have any problem pre-registering, call 808-667-6161 ext: 7, for help and more information.

Individuals who book an appointment, but find other provider or can’t make it to their assigned time, are asked to cancel their appointment in advance, to ensure others have an opportunity to fill those spots. According to Prouty, there have been about 20 cancellations per day.

According to Minit Medical, test kits remain available, it’s just a matter of how many can be run at any given time and staffing availability to run them. Minit Medical is actively hiring for additional spots including nurses, medical assistants and administration; and will continue to add more testing sites if staffing is available. Applicants are invited to contact [email protected].

The testing is available in partnership with the County of Maui and utilizes the Abbott Id Now rapid molecular NAAT COVID-19 test, with results available within an hour. This type of testing can only handle a certain amount of tests per hour, making it logistically easier to do testing by appointment rather than drive through testing that was seen during the height of the pandemic last year.

Last year’s drive-through testing was processed through Clinical Labs and insurance, which does not pay for asymptomatic surveillance testing.

“For people who cannot be tested, if they are exposed or have symptoms, they should quarantine. A test is not going to necessarily get you out of quarantine,” said Prouty.

Other sites offering COVID-19 testing:

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health also announced it is expanding its network of free COVID-19 community testing through a partnership with the National Kidney Foundation of Hawaiʻi Consortium and independent pharmacies across the state.  The program is rolling out at locations on Hawaiʻi Island, Kauaʻi, Maui, Lānaʻi and Molokaʻi. The Maui County sites are listed below:

• Drive-through COVID-19 testing are scheduled periodically. Please watch for announcements from the County of Maui for drive-through testing dates, times, pre-registration instructions and other information.
• Various healthcare organizations in Maui County offer COVID-19 tests. Please contact the providers directly, or visit their websites for information on testing services and criteria, hours of operation, appointment scheduling, and patient instructions. This list will be updated as new information becomes available.

Maui

• Clinical Labs of Hawai’i
  COVID-19 testing, appointments recommended, various locations
• CVS Pharmacy
  135 Kehalani Village Drive, Wailuku
  Appointments required, register online
• Malama I Ke Ola Health Center
  Appointments required: 808-871-7772
• Maui Medical Group
  Walk-in COVID-19 Testing Center in Wailuku. No appointment required.
• Minit Medical
  Locations: Kahului, Lahaina, and Kihei/Wailea
  Phone: 808-667-6161
  Pre-Register for the Maui COVID-19 Testing DrivesFree community COVID-19 test, not valid for travel 

Moloka‘i

• Moloka‘i Community Health Center
  Phone: 808-553-5038
  ACT Clinic for urgent care and COVID-19 testing
• Moloka‘i General Hospital
  Phone: 808-553-5331

Lana‘i

• Clinical Labs of Hawai’i
  COVID-19 testing, appointments and clinic locations
• Lana’i Community Hospital – Maui Health Systems
  Appointments preferred, walk-ins welcome
  Pre-register online or call 808-565-8450
• Lanai Community Health Center
  By appointment only
  Phone: 808-565-6919
• Lana’i Kina‘ole 
  Phone: 808-565-8001
• Rainbow Pharmacy
  Phone: 808-565-9332
• Straub Medical Center – Lanai Clinic
  Phone: 808-565-6423