Seattle Unveils New Coronavirus Testing Kiosks

SEATTLE — Starting in early December, Seattleites will have access to two new kiosks that will allow for free, self-administered coronavirus tests with results within 48 hours, Mayor Jenny Durkan announced Friday.

Durkan said the pilot program will help counter growing demand at the city's four existing facilities, which already perform up to 6,000 tests per day. The first two kiosks will serve North Seattle and Central Seattle, boosting daily testing capacity by at least 1,000, according to the mayor's office. Within a few weeks, the city hopes to add kiosks at five more locations.

"Across the region, state, and nation, we are facing the third wave of the pandemic," Durkan said. "Seattle has led the way through innovative testing, and our Seattle Fire Department is leading our free citywide testing efforts and reaching record levels of testing over the past week. With a surging virus, we must surge our testing capacity."

The kiosks, provided through a partnership with Curative, offer an oral swab, instead of a nasal swab used at most testing sites, and results typically will be available by text or e-mail within 24 to 48 hours. Visitors will not be charged or receive a bill, regardless of insurance status, officials said.

In a news release, the mayor's office said the kiosks will likely operate Monday through Sautrday, between 8 a.m .and 4 p.m. Patients will need to register online before visiting, and the city will provide specifics on kiosk locations and hours in the coming days.

The new testing options come as coronavirus cases surge across Washington, and many sites have been overwhelmed with long lines and people seeking testing ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday. Health officials recommend tests only for those exhibiting symptoms or people with known exposures to infected people.

"The number of tests conducted per day at our City's four community test sites has doubled from the summer months with the holiday rush and spread of COVID-19 in our region," said Harold Scoggins, chief of the Seattle Fire Department. "I want to emphasize that testing should be prioritized for people experiencing symptoms or for those with close exposure to a positive person for 15 minutes or longer without a face covering. At this time, we simply do not have enough capacity to test people who are only receiving a test to gather with their family for Thanksgiving."

Beyond the capacity limits, public health officials caution against relying on tests to provide a "clean bill of health" for the holidays, since results only reflect a person's status at the moment the test was performed and offer little assurance against infection, even a few hours later.