OHA Announces New Online Testing Locator, July 22

The Oregon Health Authority announced it has published a COVID-19 test site locator to help Oregonians across the state find testing sites in their community. The interactive map is available on pages in both English and Spanish and can be toggled into multiple other languages: healthoregon.org/covid19testing or healthoregon.org/pruebasdecovid19 (Spanish) People who experience COVID-19 symptoms, including fever, cough or shortness of breath, should contact a health care provider to discuss whether to be tested. Health care providers determine whether testing is appropriate based on symptoms and test availability in their area. “Removing barriers to testing is important to help Oregonians stay healthy and to slow the spread of COVID-19,” said Dean Sidelinger, MD, state epidemiologist and state health officer. “This new resource can help people find ongoing testing locations in their community, which is especially important for people who don’t have a primary care provider.” The COVID-19 testing site locator was developed by Castlight, a health navigation platform that connects the information of hundreds of health vendors, benefits resources and plan designs into an online tool. Oregonians can locate nearby testing sites by entering their address or selecting state, county and zip. Oregonians should call the COVID-19 testing site before they go to learn about testing criteria, availability and hours. Oregon’s testing guidance encourages testing for anyone with symptoms in consultation with a health care provider. If testing resources are limited, the following groups should be prioritized: Healthcare workers and first responders (EMS, public safety workers); Residents, staff, children, and others in non-hospital congregate settings (e.g., residential care facilities, group homes, schools, agricultural workplaces, food processing plants, jails or prisons, shelters); Workers who provide direct care or services in multiple group facilities or who provide in-home services (e.g., hospice care workers, physical or occupational therapists, in-home personal care workers); Essential front-line service workers who have regular contact with large numbers of people (e.g., those working in grocery, pharmacy, transit, delivery, and other critical infrastructure services); People 65 years of age or older; People with underlying medical conditions, including, but not limited to, hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, lung disease, obesity, and immunocompromising conditions; People who identify as Black, African American, Latinx, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Asian American or Pacific Islander; People who identify as having a disability; People whose first language is not English; Pregnant women; People whose condition requires hospitalization; People who, within 14 days of their symptom onset, had close contact with a confirmed or presumptive COVID-19 case. The data on the testing locator was submitted to Castlight by both the OHA and local public health authorities. OHA cannot guarantee that people will be able to get tested at one of the sites. It is always best to contact a health care provider about getting a COVID-19 test.