It was a busy scene Tuesday afternoon at the Astumbo Gym as police officers, National Guard members and dozens of Public Health nurses conducted COVID-19 testing on residents from Yigo and Dededo

People seeking testing were being screened in their cars and trucks at a nearby school parking lot. Later, swabs were taken at drive-thru and walk-in stations.

Bertha Taijeron of Guam Public Health and Social Services said the goal for the day was 150 screenings. 

More: 52 tested at Astumbo

More: GovGuam pilot testing program for COVID–19 in Dededo

Since the beginning of the COVID–19 pandemic, many in the mainland U.S. and elsewhere have complained that they have been denied testing since their symptoms did not persuade medical personnel that they needed to use the test kits that were in short supply.

On Tuesday afternoon, as a long line of vehicles bearing patients were being screened, Public Health nurse Zennia Pecina said nobody was being turned away. 

"When we do this first assessment we check to see if they qualify, if they have mild symptoms and if they don't, they don't qualify to be tested," said Pecina "So far we haven't turned away anyone. So far, everyone has qualified to be tested."

What sort of symptoms are they seeing?

"Symptoms like the cough, shortness of breath, very minimal fever, so it's mostly shortness of breath, runny nose, headaches, that sort of thing," she said.

And the ages of those seeking tests?

"We're actually seeing a variety," she said. "Young, older, I haven't seen any teens yet, oh, I take that back, there was one teenager. But the majority of them are middle-aged I'd say."

Nearby, a team of nurses were quizzing occupants of the lined-up vehicles about their symptoms. 

For Pecina, it was all in a day's work.

"Right now we're doing our second round of community swabbing. Sometimes it's hard for people to come into the hospitals and clinics to get swabbed, so we're taking it out to the community for those that are ready to come," she said. "It's an outreach." 

There was no immediate word on when the results of the testing would be released to those tested or to the public. 

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