DENVER | The remaining state-run COVID-19 testing sites will close mid-January, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.
Over the last two years, 150 sites have operated across the state. Currently, there are only 20 open. They will close on Jan. 15.
CDPHE officials say more availability of at-home tests have contributed to fewer visits at the testing sites, which just a year ago featured long, twisting lines of cars due to high numbers of omicron variant cases. In the testing center at Del Mar Park in Aurora, cars lined the streets in the surrounding neighborhood.
“…demand for testing at community sites has dropped consistently over the last several months, fluctuating between 3-6% of overall capacity since November 2022,” health department officials said in a news release Wednesday.
Testing will now transition to traditional health care settings and the state will continue to provide free at-home tests at more than 200 distribution points across the state. Coloradans can also order free tests through a federal program.
Free testing at schools is expected to continue through the end of this school year, state officials said, and long-term and residential care facilities will still receive rapid tests “as needed.”