Photo by George Liu
It’s called “Center for COVID Control”—and one such testing site popped in Seattle’s Chinatown International District (CID) earlier this month at 417 7th Avenue South.
It’s just one of nearly a dozen testing sites in Washington state and 300 in the country operated by the Illinois-based company. The company is not affiliated with the King County Department of Health or the Washington State Department of Health (DOH).
In the CID, the words “FAKE TESTS” were spray-painted on the outside of the 7th Avenue site.
People complained that the site was giving fake test results and taking personal information such as identification and health insurance information.
The DOH said it is aware of at least 10 testing sites operated by the Center for Covid Control, and the sites are not licensed by the state.
The DOH recommends people looking for a COVID-19 test choose a testing location posted at doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/TestingforCOVID19, or check with your local health jurisdiction or county health department for information about additional locations.
Suspicious practices should be reported to the DOH Complaint Site and the Office of the Attorney General.