Free COVID-19 testing to end at airport and in Snowmass Village
Location in downtown Aspen has moved to other side of old City Hall
David Krause / The Aspen Times
COVID-19 testing sites at the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport and in Snowmass Village will end free PCR testing for the public at the end of the month, according to a state health department news release.
However, both sites will remain open a few days a week offering PCR tests for a fee, though the schedule has not yet been worked out, Pitkin County Public Health Director Jordana Sabella said Thursday.
That means the only site in Pitkin County that will continue to offer free COVID-19 PCR testing is a walk-up window at the Armory Building — otherwise known as the former Aspen City Hall — on Hopkins Street, Sabella said. In addition, the Pitkin County Library will continue to offer free rapid antigen tests to the public.
The move to end free testing at the airport cellphone lot site and in Snowmass Village comes as part of the state’s efforts to transition COVID-19 testing to “traditional health care settings and federal programs,” according the state health department. The two sites are part of 40 statewide that will end free testing or close by April 30.
“Colorado’s network of more than 150 community testing sites across the state have provided free, reliable testing options to Coloradans throughout the pandemic,” said Dr. Emily Travanty, director of the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Laboratory, in the release. “Now is an appropriate time to begin this gradual transition as we continue to see a plateau in case rates in Colorado, and decreased demand for community testing.”
The free PCR testing site at the Glenwood Springs Community Center also will close, according to the state.