Photo by Liu George
It’s called the “Coronavirus Control Center” — one such testing site popped up earlier this month at 417 South 7th Avenue in Seattle’s Chinatown International District (CID).
It’s just one of 300 testing sites the Illinois-based company has tested in Washington state and across the country. 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” are sprayed on the outside of the Seventh Avenue construction site.
People have complained that the site provides false test results and obtains personal information, such as identification and health insurance information.
The Health Ministry said it was aware of at least 10 testing sites run by Covid control centres that were not licensed by the state government.
The DOH recommends that people looking for testing for COVID-19 choose the testing locations posted at doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/COVID19/TestingforCOVID19, or consult your local health jurisdiction or county health department for information on other locations.
Suspicious behavior should be reported to the DOH complaint website and the Attorney General’s Office.
