Pima County adds more COVID testing sites ahead of the holidays

TUCSON, Ariz. (KOLD News 13) - As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise in Arizona, the Pima County Health Department is offering more ways to get tested for the virus through “pop-up” testing sites.

Health officials said these sites are meant to make getting tested for COVID-19 more convenient and less stressful for families.

These pop-up sites will appear in different areas each week to give those who’ve had a lack of convenient testing near them a chance.

“We’re really trying to make this accessible not just because it’s in your backyard basically or because it’s free. We’re trying to make it accessible to everyone. We have the ability to call into language lines, translators, and stuff like that,” said Jess Seline, MC3 Program Manager for the Pima County Health Department.

It doesn’t matter if you have an appointment or not.

You can just walk up and get tested.

Seline said the sites they chose are based on where they’re seeing the most cases, but also because people have told them it’s sometimes hard to make it to the department’s two permanent testing sites.

That’s why the health department has made its hours at these sites flexible for those with a strict work schedule.

PCHD is even making getting the results of your test easier by allowing people to hear the news through their phones rather than just strictly online, which can be difficult for some.

Officials said a big reason for doing these pop-ups is to give people the knowledge of a positive, or negative, test before they’re around their families for the holidays.

For more information on where and when these pop-up sites will be taking place, click here.

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