COVID-19 testing site at Pueblo Mall closes: Here's why and where to get free tests

Josue Perez, The Pueblo Chieftain
·3 min read

A Pueblo COVID-19 testing site closed Friday after administering thousands of free tests over the past few months.

The testing site, located at the Pueblo Mall, had administered 3,821 tests between Sept. 6 and Nov. 28. A contractor had been running the site, and its lease is set to expire, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

The site had also administered COVID-19 vaccinations before it stopped offering them earlier this month, with Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment citing a return to “normal operations." The amount of people getting their vaccines declined compared with the early part of 2021, and those who are looking to be inoculated are now using their medical providers, the department said.

The Pueblo Mall COVID-19 testing site closed on Friday.
The Pueblo Mall COVID-19 testing site closed on Friday.

According to the state health department, community testing sites across the state are using less than 6% of the total number of tests they can administer per week and demand for testing at these sites has dropped significantly over the past several months.

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“Coloradans have transitioned away from relying on large community testing sites and toward testing at home with widely available at-home rapid tests, health care providers or local retail pharmacies,” said Dr. Emily Travanty, laboratory director for CDPHE, in a news release. “CDPHE continues to monitor demand at testing sites across the state as we continue to implement the testing transition plans outlined in the Polis administration’s ‘roadmap to moving forward’ (initiative).”

Puebloans can still access free COVID-19 tests by visiting a pharmacy or distribution center. There are six distribution centers in Pueblo:

  • Pueblo Department of Public Health, 101 W. Ninth St.

  • Pueblo Community Health Center — East Side clinic, 1301 E. Seventh St., and Colorado clinic, 300 Colorado Ave.

  • Pueblo Cooperative Care Center, 326 W. Eighth St.

  • Pueblo City-County Library District, 100 E. Abriendo Ave.

  • Southern Colorado Harm Reduction, 1249 Routt Ave.

Quest Diagnostics, 600 N. Grand Ave., and Color Health at El Rodeo Meat Market, 1301 Lake Ave., are a few locations that have low or no-cost testing, as do all Pueblo Walgreens locations except the one in Pueblo West.

Puebloans can also order free at-home COVID-19 tests by visiting covid.gov/tests. Each U.S. household is eligible to receive four free tests.

Pueblo County’s seven-day positivity rate as of Dec. 26 was 7%, according to electronic laboratory reporting from the state health department. That's below the state’s average positivity rate of 9% that was last updated Wednesday.

Pueblo’s positivity rate, which offers an understanding of how widespread infection is in an area, has dropped each week since Nov. 18, when the rate peaked at 20% after hovering in the single digits and teens over the few months before that. Transmission level, however, is still considered “high” in Pueblo County, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recommends mask use in indoor public areas when a county is in “high” transmission.

Pueblo’s seven-day incidence rate as of Dec. 26 was 91 per 100,000, which is on par with the state’s rate.

For more information on vaccine availability in Pueblo, visit pueblohealth.org/vaccine.

Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo Mall COVID testing site closes: Where to get free COVID tests