PORTLAND, Maine — A new COVID-19 testing site for travelers and the general public is now open at the Portland International Jetport.
The site is in partnership with Curative, a company that offers rapid shallow nasal PCR testing for the virus. The site operates daily 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Appointments can be made at curative.com.
Fred Turner, CEO and co-founder of Curative, said in a release Wednesday that results will be delivered directly to patients within 1-2 hours and at no out-of-pocket cost. According to Curative, a patient will never receive a bill for a Curative test because the company will either work with a patient's insurance company to cover the cost or work with the state to cover the cost if the patient does not have insurance.
"The Portland International Jetport is pleased to resume COVID-19 testing for passengers traveling, and to assist our community at-large" Portland International Jetport Director Paul Bradbury said in Wednesday's release. "We are pleased that Curative has agreed to work with us to provide this needed resource."
Last Thursday, the Maine Center for Disease Control reported the state's PCR testing volume at 745 tests per 100,000 residents. That mark is the 11th best in the country.
At-home testing kits are becoming hard to come by in Maine.
“Whenever we get a chance to get them in stock, they’re gone within the next day or so," Chad Parsons, the pharmacist in charge at the Community Pharmacy of Saco, told NEWS CENTER Maine last week.
Parsons added he doesn't have any idea when the next supply of tests will fill his shelves.
“I would think two years in we’d have a better shot at having a rapid test whenever we needed something," he said.
