Mayor Bruce Harrell Announces New COVID Testing Site and Expanded Options

Testing site at SPU opens Wednesday; new rapid PCR tests available in three locations later this month

Seattle – As the Omicron surge in COVID cases continues, today Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced new and improved testing options for Seattleites opening this month.

“As the Omicron variant continues to surge in our community and around the country so has demand for COVID-19 testing. We know that testing – along with vaccines, masks, and social distancing – is key to tackling this pandemic, which is why Seattle is launching a new testing site and swifter tests through our partnership with Curative,” said Mayor Bruce Harrell.

A new Curative testing kiosk will launch tomorrow, Wednesday, January 19 at 315 W Bertona St, Seattle, WA 98119, and will be open Monday-Saturday, 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. This site will be at Seattle Pacific University, as part of the Harrell administration’s partnership-focused approach to address the continuing pandemic.

Existing Curative sites at the Paramount Theater, Convention Center, and Garfield Playfield will be adding expanded capacity and a new type of rapid PCR test to deliver faster results later this month. Rapid PCR tests detect viral RNA which is a more direct and sensitive method of detection, leading to higher accuracy of test within 2 hours. Locations for new rapid PCR tests include:

Paramount Theatre, 911 Pine St, Seattle, WA 98101; open 12:00 p.m. – 7 p.m.
WA State Convention Center, 705 Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98101; open 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Garfield Playfield-Tennis Court, 501-653 25th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122; open 7:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.

“I know that this latest surge has been hard for so many in our community from health care workers who have gone two years without a break to emergency responders and parents who are now dealing with more school closures,” said Mayor Harrell. “But we cannot give in to exhaustion, despair, and apathy. The hard truth is that we are not out of the woods yet, and we must continue to act like it. If we can rise above to work together, to look out for each other, to stand together as One Seattle we will get through this.” "Curative is honored to be renewing our partnership with the City of Seattle in an effort to bring accessible, no out-of-pocket COVID-19 testing into the community,” said Elizabeth Bayardi, Regional Director of Curative. “Curative proudly offers PCR testing and will be launching rapid testing options in the City, with results delivered directly to patients. We encourage everyone to visit our website to make an appointment ahead of time.” The City strongly urges residents to only use testing locations verified by the City, County, or State and posted on their websites. Unlicensed COVID-19 testing locations and their procedures have not been verified by the state and have the potential to directly harm our community and our collective efforts to manage the pandemic. If residents have concerns about a COVID-19 testing facility, they can make a report with the Washington State Department of Health as well as the Washington State Attorney General. The White House has announced that they are buying one billion at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests to be made available and mailed directly to Americans for free. Households can order tests online starting January 18th at COVIDtests.gov, and tests are expected to ship within 7-12 days of ordering. There will be a limit of four tests per residential address. Private insurance companies are also now required to cover the costs of up to eight at-home COVID-19 tests per covered individual per month. Additional City testing sites include fixed locations with UW Medicine and Curative kiosks placed throughout the City. Appointments are strongly encouraged at all locations and sites. Due to an increase in testing volumes at all sites, longer wait times in line should be expected. Results may take up to 48-72 hours for non-rapid PCR tests. For more on any of the sites, please visit: www.seattle.gov/covid-19-testing. UW Lab Locations: