No-cost rapid PCR COVID-19 testing now available at COCC campuses in Bend, Redmond

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- Just in time for holiday travel, a second location offering no-cost rapid PCR COVID-19 testing is now open in Deschutes County. The site is made possible through an ongoing partnership between Deschutes County Health Services, Central Oregon Community College, the Oregon Health Authority and Curative.

Appointments for the Bend testing site are available Mondays through Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be made online at cur.tv/bend. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests are self-administered using a shallow nasal swab, with results available from Curative within 1 to 2 hours. Testing is not available Thursday or Friday of this week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

The testing clinic is open to anyone ages 5 and up, including those required to test for work, school or travel. There is no cost to those who are tested and no insurance or identification is required. For those with insurance, the insurance policy may be billed.

Curative intends to hire staff in the coming weeks to enable the location to test children under the age of 5 for COVID-19. 

The Bend rapid PCR COVID-19 testing site is located in front of the COCC Coats Campus Center, 2600 NW College Way, Bend, OR 97703. It is the second no-cost rapid PCR COVID-19 testing location in Deschutes County, with the first operating on COCC’s Redmond campus, Thursdays through Mondays from noon to 7 p.m., appointments available at cur.tv/redmond.

Both COCC COVID-19 community testing locations will remain open at least through the 2022 winter season.