Testing available from Saturday, August 8 through Friday, August 14
Sign up now to be tested for COVID-19 as soon as Saturday at a walk-up kiosk on San Pablo Avenue.
After a successful two-day pilot that provided tests to over 500 people, Berkeley Public Health is bringing the Curative testing kiosk back for an extended pilot. At the kiosk, people can swab their own mouth and place it in a receptacle -- all while under supervision.
The kiosk will be at Berkeley Adult School parking lot at 1701 San Pablo for a full week. Testing is available from 10am-6pm on Saturday and Sunday, and 9am-6pm Monday through Friday.
Test results are expected within 24-48 hours.
Kiosk pilot expands access to testing
Curative, Inc’s self-administered oral fluid test is widely used for drive-up testing in the City of Los Angeles. This pilot, which offers the same test in a walk-up kiosk, is part of the City’s efforts to expand access to testing for everyone in our community.
These and other Berkeley Public Health efforts have sought to increase testing for uninsured and vulnerable populations, especially Black and Latino, who are currently infected at 4.5 times the rate of white people nationally. The Curative kiosk tests are free to those without insurance, as are the two other Berkeley sites coordinated through the City.
People with insurance should always coordinate with their provider, as your primary physician would be important for any follow-up care. For those with insurance, be prepared to provide that information. Federal and state rules mandate that all patients with full-service Medi-Cal or commercial insurance in California will have copays, coinsurance, and deductibles waived for COVID-19 testing and screening.
“Our goal is to use what is within our means to expand the availability of testing,” said City Manager Dee Williams-Ridley. “This pilot testing program gives us a tool to see how we might expand access to more parts of our community.”
Testing is at the core of Berkeley’s COVID-19 response
Testing is a crucial part of the City’s public health response -- one element in a public health infrastructure that partners closely with Alameda County and the state and is more effective when supported on a national level.
For every positive test of a Berkeley resident, City of Berkeley Public Health staff investigate and trace to identify others potentially exposed. The quicker people get tested, the quicker that response begins.
To provide increased testing for vulnerable populations, the City has sent a mobile testing unit to senior housing complexes, organizations with connections to Latinx and Black people, and skilled nursing facilities. The City has also provided testing to hundreds of people working in the City, such as essential workers in grocery stores.
Providing easier, more accessible options to target populations is essential to keeping Berkeley healthy, said Lisa Warhuus, PhD, Director of the City’s Health Housing and Community Services department.
“By protecting those most vulnerable to this disease,” said Warhuus, “we better protect our community as a whole.”
