MILWAUKEE — Hayat Pharmacy in Milwaukee is keeping its doors open for 24 hours starting on January 1st as demand for COVID-19 tests increase.
With the high demand for testing and the surge in Covid-19 positive cases, we’re happy to announce that our testing center at 807 W Layton Ave. will be open 24 hours on January 1st and 2nd!
— Hayat Pharmacy (@HayatRx) December 30, 2021
We look forward to continuing to push through this pandemic together for a safer community
This comes as positive coronavirus cases continue to increase across Wisconsin and the entire country.
"If you think about it people are busy and they have mild symptoms. If they can't test guess what happens? They skip it, and if that person is positive and they assume that it was just mild symptoms then he or she is spreading it to other people," said pharmacist Dr. Hashim Zaibak at Hayat Pharmacy.
Dr. Zaibak's hope is the 24-hour testing hours will reach those who cannot get to a test site during business hours.
Milwaukee Health Department's test sites will be closed on January 1 and 2. However, the Menomonee Valley site will be open 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. on December 31.
On Thursday, Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin said it has been forced to delay some deferrable surgical procedures that require beds in their hospitals. Masks are once again required in the Fiserv Forum. Also, more than a dozen players on the Packers have tested positive for the coronavirus.
As we approach another holiday that typically brings people together doctors strongly advised people think about their New Year's Eve plans and layers of protection such as vaccinations, testing, face masks, and distancing.
"Cases are really skyrocketing across the country that includes Wisconsin that includes Milwaukee County. It's not just cases that are going up it's hospitalizations as well. So unfortunately it is the time to be really careful," said Dr. Ben Weston, chief health policy advisor for Milwaukee County.
Dr. Weston's top concerns surround the omicron variant which is more contagious than the delta variant. Data from the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Wisconsin-Madison shows it took four weeks for the omicron variant to become dominant in Wisconsin, less than half the time it took the delta variant.
Dr. Weston said it is too early to tell how crowded hospitals will be able to keep up.
"Our trajectory right now is almost vertical when you look at our cases when you look at our positivity. So how that will be impacted by the holidays, by the cold weather, by everybody getting back to work back to school is yet to be seen," Dr. Weston said.
To find a Hayat Pharacy near you for a COVID test, click here. The pharmacy said registering for a test ahead of time will get you through the line quicker.