Harrisburg, PA – The Department of Health today announced that a new free COVID-19 testing site will be operational in Juniata County through a partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare (AMI).
Through the AMI partnership, the Wolf Administration also has additional testing sites in Berks, Blair, Cambria, Centre, Clinton, Crawford, Mifflin and Pike counties.
“The Wolf Administration remains committed to protecting Pennsylvanians and providing the resources necessary to keep them and their loved ones safe,” Acting Secretary of Health Keara Klinepeter said. “We know that testing gives us a tool to do that and thanks to our partnership with AMI we are able expanding that effort.
“We encourage anyone who feels they need or wants a test, especially if they think they have been exposed to COVID-19 or are experiencing symptoms, to take advantage of the free COVID-19 testing closest to them. This includes fully vaccinated individuals who are experiencing symptoms,” Klinepeter continued.
These testing resources are designed to rotate to different locations as needed.
Berks County
Testing is available from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. on Saturdays through Jan. 29. The testing location is the parking lot of Direct Link Technologies, 2561 Bernville Road, Reading, PA, 19605. Enter the parking lot from Van Reed Road.
Blair County
Testing is available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays through Jan. 28. The testing location is the Blair County Ballpark - Peoples Natural Gas Field, 1000 Park Avenue, Altoona, PA 16602.
Cambria County
Testing will be available through Saturday, Jan. 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday testing will be available from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Jan. 22 and Jan. 29. The testing location is the Galleria Mall Old Verizon Store, 500 Galleria Drive, Suite 278, Johnstown, PA, 15904. The Galleria Mall is located near the intersection of Route 219 and Route 56.
Centre County
Testing will be available through Saturday Jan. 29 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the County Recycling and Refuse Authority/Interpretive Center, 253 Transfer Road, Bellefonte, PA, 16823.
Clinton County
Testing will be available through Saturday, Jan. 29 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday testing is from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lock Haven University East Campus Gymnasium (former Lock Haven High School Gymnasium), 340 West Main Street, Lock Haven, PA, 17745.
Crawford County
Testing is available from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24 through Friday, Jan. 28. The testing location is the Fairgrounds, 13921 Dickson Road, Meadville, PA 16335.
Juniata County
Testing will be available Tuesday, Jan 25 through Saturday, Jan. 29. Tuesday through Friday testing is from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday testing is from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Juniata County CBTS, Cedar Grove BIC Church, 287 Deerville Road, Mifflintown, PA, 17059.
Mifflin County
Testing will be available through Saturday, Jan. 29. Tuesday through Friday testing is from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday testing is from 8 a.m. to noon at the Pennsylvania State Fire Academy, 1150 Riverside Drive, Lewistown, PA, 17044.
Pike County
Testing will be available Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Saturday, Jan. 29. The testing location is the EMA Training Center, 135 Pike County Boulevard, Lords Valley, PA 18428.
In addition, Pennsylvanians can find more than 960 testing sites on the locator map here.
The testing sites are open to anyone who feels they need a test. It is important that even people with no symptoms who have tested positive isolate to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Up to 450 people can be tested per day at most AMI testing sites. Mid-nasal passage swab PCR tests will be performed. Testing is on a first-come, first-serve basis and is free. No appointment is necessary. Testing is open to individuals from any county who are ages 3 and older. Individuals do not need to be experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to be tested.
Patients are encouraged to bring a photo-ID, but ID is not required to be tested. Registration will also be completed on-site.
Individuals who are tested should self-quarantine while they await their test results. Individuals who live with other people should self-quarantine in a private room and use a private bathroom, if possible. Others living in the home with the individual awaiting test results should also stay at home. The department has additional instructions for individuals waiting for a COVID-19 test result. Individuals who test positive will receive a phone call from AMI while individuals who test negative will receive a secured-PDF emailed from AMI.
The department has contracted with AMI to perform pop-up COVID-19 testing in counties across the state since September 2020.
The Wolf Administration has also taken an active role in increasing testing capacity throughout the commonwealth. These efforts include:
· Ensuring in-person learning continues by offering K-12 school districts free weekly COVID-19 services at no cost to participating schools through the departments of Health and Education, in partnership with Concentric by Gingko Bioworks.
· Educating counties, municipalities, and health systems about the federal reimbursement available to them for eligible COVID-related expenses including activities such as setting up their own community-based testing sites.
· Meeting with manufacturers to offer incentives to increase production of COVID-19 tests to meet the growing demand from the private sector to require the public to produce negative COVID-19 tests for travel, public events, dining, and more.
MEDIA CONTACT: Mark O’Neill - ra-dhpressoffice@pa.gov
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