Eastside's 1st Free Coronavirus Testing Site Opens In Bellevue

Lucas Combos
Updated ·2 min read

BELLEVUE, WA — The Eastside will welcome its first high-volume, free coronavirus testing site Tuesday morning on the campus of Bellevue College, amid rising case counts and test positivity rates. Bellevue's testing facility, set to operate six days a week, joins those already open in Renton, Auburn, Tukwila, Federal Way, Des Moines, and most recently, Enumclaw.

According to public health officials, the new drive-thru and walk-up testing facility will be staffed by International Community Health Services with support from King County and the city of Bellevue. Among the goals is increasing access to testing for non-English speakers, with more than 13 percent of the city's households identified as members of different language communities.

"We are grateful for our partners at Bellevue College and International Community Health Services for expanding access to testing that will help serve communities on the Eastside and along the I-90 corridor," said Patty Hayes, director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. "ICHS has a long history of providing culturally relevant care and this expertise will be extremely valuable for the diverse language communities we hope will access this site.

Anyone experiencing potential COVID-19 symptoms or with close contact to a positive case is urged to avoid contact with others and get tested as soon as possible. Those in need of support are encouraged to call the King County COVID-19 Call Center at 206-477-3977.

New COVID-19 testing site opens in Bellevue

  • Where: Bellevue College (2645 145th Ave. SE)

  • Hours: Monday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

  • Online registration is encouraged, but not required, to help limit wait times. Appointments can be made via the ICHS website.

Find more testing sites in King County on the public health website.

This article originally appeared on the Bellevue Patch