PHOENIX (February 2, 2022)—In response to increasing demand for COVID-19 testing, Maricopa County has opened multiple community testing sites across the Valley in February including a new location at Ak-Chin Pavilion in partnership with City of Phoenix and staffed with resources through FEMA.
The new daily PCR testing site at the Ak-Chin Pavilion is conveniently located near the Loop 101 and I-10 freeways, near several West Valley cities. The site is open 7 days per week from 11am-7pm, which is helpful for people who cannot easily access testing during regular business hours. Like many other MCDPH testing sites, this site takes people with and without appointments, and allows people to either drive through or walk up for testing. This site is operated in part with assistance from FEMA, who contracted a team to provide testing support.
In addition to the Ak-Chin site, Maricopa County has worked with its vendors to open additional sites offering PCR testing across the Valley in the month of February:
- Daily at Tolleson Veterans Park in Tolleson
- Wednesdays and Thursdays at Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale
- Saturdays and Sundays at Mesquite High School in Gilbert
Through its contract with ADHS, ASU has also pitched in during this surge in cases to increase its hours of operation for its saliva-based PCR testing at its SkySong location in Scottsdale. ASU also has an additional location for saliva-based PCR at the Mesa Convention Center. Both require appointments.
In addition to the daily testing sites, MCDPH frequently hosts testing sites at recognizable community facilities, such as schools, churches, community colleges, and more.
Some of the other ongoing testing events MCDPH organizes are:
- Every Friday in February at Murphy Education Center in south Phoenix
- Fridays in February (February 4th and 11th) at St. Vincent de Paul School in west Phoenix
“Many, many partners have stepped up to offer testing throughout the Valley,” said Dr. Rebecca Sunenshine, medical director for disease control at MCDPH. “Our approach has always been to identify community testing needs and then work to get some type of testing to where it is needed. Right now, with so much need, the best approach is standing up fixed sites for a short amount of time to get more people tested as quickly as possible.”
Dr. Sunenshine added, “The bottom line is that testing is the only way to know for sure if you have COVID-19 or not, so if you have symptoms like a sore throat, cough, congestion, or runny nose, get tested to know if it’s COVID-19 or something else. We want to make sure it is as easy as possible for everyone in Maricopa County and at hours that are convenient for people working all hours of the day."
Details of all Maricopa County-supported testing events are listed at Maricopa.gov/COVID19Testing in English and at Maricopa.gov/COVID19Pruebas in Spanish. People who need assistance finding a testing location or scheduling an appointment can also call the MCDPH CARES Team at (602) 506-6767 for assistance in multiple languages.
MEDIA CONTACT AND AVAILABILITY
Media contact: Sonia Singh, (602) 679-3098
WHAT: A spokesperson will be available to talk about COVID-19 testing options from Maricopa County Department of Public Health
WHEN: Thursday, February 3, 2022 from 11am-12pm
WHERE: Ak-Chin Pavilion, 2121 N. 83rd Ave, Phoenix. Media may enter through the staff entrance at Gate 3 off Encanto Blvd. for this availability.