COVID testing site that nearly closed now seeing hundreds of people per day

ROCK HILL, S.C. — As the delta variant of COVID-19 has exploded across the nation, testing for the virus is again rapidly increasing.

Channel 9 South Carolina reporter Greg Suskin visited a pop-up testing site on Thursday which has become close to a permanent fixture at Winthrop University in Rock Hill.

During the height of the pandemic last summer and even into the winter, Channel 9 saw pop-up test sites all over the place. Most operated for a few days or a week.

The one at Winthrop has been open the longest -- six days a week, since Oct. 1, 2020.

The site, run by medical company Genetwork, has tested more than 75,000 people for COVID as of this week. A few months ago, in the spring when the vaccine became available for everyone and cases started to decline, they tested only about 50 people a day.

‘It’s bittersweet’: Rock Hill community’s mass vaccination clinic shuts its doors

At one time, organizers had considered closing the testing site as cases declined. Now they’ve opened a second drive-up lane and have added extra staff as well.

In the past three weeks, they’re back to testing about 400 people daily as the delta variant has become widespread.

(WATCH BELOW: ‘It’s bittersweet’: Rock Hill community’s mass vaccination clinic shuts its doors)