Centre County’s free COVID-19 testing clinic will be on the move again to start the new year.
Beginning Tuesday, Jan. 4, the clinic will operate 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays at the Centre County Recycling & Refuse Authority, 253 Transfer Road.
The clinic previously operated at the CCRRA from May through October before moving to its current location at the former Sears Auto Center building, 183 Shiloh Road, next to the Nittany Mall.
Because of holiday hours, Wednesday (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) will be the final day for the clinic at the Shiloh Road location.
The clinic is offered by the Pennsylvania Department of Health in partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare
The site is equipped to test up to 450 people a day. With a surge in community transmission and new cases of COVID-19 driven by the omicron variant, an increasing number of people have been seeking testing.
“We’re hearing that they are exceptionally busy, so the message is if you need testing, go early in the day,” Centre County Administrator Margaret Gray said during Tuesday’s Board of Commissioners meeting.
Testing is open to anyone age 3 or older on a first-come, first-served basis. No appointment is required and patients do not need to have COVID-19 symptoms to get tested. Patients are asked to bring ID. Those with insurance should bring their insurance card but
Mid-nasal passage swab PCR tests are performed and turnaround time for results has typically been one to three days after testing.
AMI has conducted the free testing in Centre County since October 2020.
Using a portion of its CARES Act block grant funds, Centre County contracted with AMI to continue free testing beginning last October, first inside the mall before moving in January to the former Comcast building at 1155 Benner Pike.
When the county’s last contract with AMI expired at the end of March, DOH sponsored a long-term free walk-in clinic in Centre County, first at the Patton Township Municipal Building and then at the CCRRA before moving to Shiloh Road and now back to the CCRRA.
