D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Wednesday that a new testing site for the coronavirus will open Thursday at the UDC-CC Bertie Backus Campus near Fort Totten.
To be tested at the facility, residents must be referred by their health care providers or call the testing hotline (855-363-0333) and make an appointment.
The UDC testing site will be open Tuesdays and Thursdays for walk-up and drive-through appointments.
In addition, the D.C. Department of Health is rolling out 12 rapid testing machines that will be deployed to the Department of Corrections, homeless shelters, St. Elizebeths Hospital, Mary’s Center and a long-term care facility.
The 12 machines, dubbed the Abbot ID Now, were given to the District by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. They will be able to test one kit at a time and deliver results in 15 minutes.
The District has ordered five other machines that will be able produce results for 16 kits at once after a 45-minute wait.
Miss Bowser said she will make a formal announcement later this week about how the city will go about reopening.
• Sophie Kaplan can be reached at skaplan@washingtontimes.com.
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