ELMIRA, NY (WENY) -- Today was the first day of Chemung County's rapid testing event for COVID-19, at the former George Washington Elementary School. The county has 10 testing stations, and is open to all Chemung County residents. Chemung County Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Dawn Bush, tells WENY News the nasal swab for the rapid test does not go as deep, and test results are back within 15 minutes.

"This test is done with evit machines, it's a nasal swab. It's not as deep as  other kind of swabbing, but the test results are back within 15 minutes so, people know withing 15 minutes  whether they are positive or negative," said Bush.

It's important to note, tests are by appointment only.

Bush says, "Appointments are required to be tested. Every test takes 15 minutes, so we need to stick to appointments and if they go to the Chemung County website. That's chemungcountyny.gov and they can register right on our website."

The testing will run from 9 am to 5 pm everyday this week through Saturday. There are still appointments available for later in the week, and for a link to the Chemung County rapid testing registration page, click here.