Information on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Testing

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What to Do If You Are Sick
Walk-Up Testing Site*
Drive-Through Testing Site*
Additional Diagnostic (Viral/Antigen) and Antibody Test Locations in Arlington
At-Home COVID-19 Test Kits
What to Do After Testing

* Both the Walk-Up and Drive-Through Testing Sites will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 26, and Friday, Nov. 27, 2020.

What to Do If You Are Sick

Call your doctor: If you think you may have been exposed to COVID-19, and develop a fever, cough or other symptoms, call your healthcare provider for medical advice. Most people have mild illness and are able to recover at home.

Keep track of your symptoms.
If you have an emergency warning sign (including trouble breathing), get medical attention right away.

If you are sick with COVID-19 or think you might have COVID-19, follow these steps to care for yourself and to help protect other people in your home and community.

CDC: If You Are Sick or Caring for Someone

Testing for COVID-19

Two kinds of tests are available for COVID-19: viral tests and antibody tests.

A viral test tells you if you have a current infection.
An antibody test tells you if you had a previous infection.

Virginia Department of Health’s Updated Guidance on Testing for COVID-19

Testing capacity at commercial, private, and hospital laboratories performing SARS-CoV-2 testing continues to increase in Virginia. VDH recommendations for prioritizing testing are summarized in the table here. If testing in the private sector is not available, clinicians may request testing for patients at DCLS by contacting the Arlington County Health Department.

The Arlington County Public Health Department, along with other public health agencies in the region, is not testing for COVID-19. You must contact your doctor to be evaluated.

Visit the Virginia Department of Health map/list for information of known locations of various COVID-19 test sampling sites in Arlington County.

Walk-Up COVID-19 Sample Collection Site

Arlington Free Clinic, in partnership with Arlington County and the Virginia Department of Health, offers a walk-up sample collection site at the Arlington Mill Community Center (909 S Dinwiddie St.) for low-income, uninsured and under-insured residents ages 13 years and older.

Requirements for visiting the COVID-19 Sample Collection Site:

HOURS:
- Monday – Friday: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m.
- Second and fourth Monday of each month: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m.
- First Saturday of the month: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
There is no fee for the testing.
Must be an Arlington resident.
No appointments required, but you may make one by calling Arlington Free Clinic at 703-912-0118, Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. Staff can take calls in English and Spanish.
No medical consultation and no insurance required.
Residents may access the site at Arlington Mill Community Center by entering through the outdoor plaza facing Columbia Pike.
Individuals must bring proof of identity (U.S. government ID not required).

Drive-Through COVID-19 Collection Site

Arlington County operates a drive-through sample collection site in partnership with Quest Diagnostics. Additionally, the site also offers testing for influenza (flu) as of Nov. 17, 2020.

Location: 1429 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA 22207

Hours: Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Fax Number: 703-312-6306

Requirements:

Patients must be 13 years and older.
Patients must have an existing order for COVID-19 testing from a licensed healthcare provider. Physicians with symptomatic patients (fevers, chills, cough, or shortness of breath) can send orders electronically through their EMR by placing the order on a “PSC Hold” through their Quest Diagnostics account number.
No appointment is needed, but one can be made online.
Individuals arriving at the drive-through site will be asked to remain in their cars. Patients must keep their car windows up at all times, until directed to do otherwise.
The collection method will be third-party observed patient self-collection.

Inclement weather may result in sample collection site closure. Check @ReadyArlington and @ArlingtonVA for site closure and reopening announcements.

COVID-19 Diagnostic (Viral/Antigen) and Antibody Test Locations in Arlington

In addition to the walk-up and drive-through testing sites, below are Arlington locations that offer COVID-19 tests.

There are two types of COVID-19 tests—diagnostic and antibody. A diagnostic test shows if you have a current infection by taking a nasal or throat swab. An antibody test shows if you have antibodies due to a past infection by taking a blood sample.

There are two types of diagnostic tests— Viral PCR and Antigen—which have different ways of detecting the virus. Viral PCR tests are highly accurate and processed in a lab (which may take a couple of days for test results). Positive Antigen test results are also highly accurate; Negative Antigen test results may need confirmation via Viral PCR test. Rapid Antigen tests take about 15 minutes for results.

Please confirm specific details with each facility as it may change over time.

Facility	Phone Number & Hours	Test Type	Eligibility/ Requirements	Appointment Required	Language Interpreter Available	Accepts Uninsured Patients	Cost
AllCare Family Medicine and Urgent Care of Arlington	703-812-8200 M-Sa: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. Su: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.	Viral PCR Antibody	Step 1: Virtual doctor visit required before testing Step 2: Use drive-thru at Alexandria AllCare (PCR test) OR visit Arlington site (Antibody test)	No, for PCR Yes, for antibody	Spanish	Yes	Accepted insurance or gov. ID: Free Proof of no insurance & non-gov. ID: $125 Non-accepted insurance: $206
Arlington Mill Community Center (Arlington Free Clinic/Arlington County/Virginia Department of Health)	703-912-0118 M-F: 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Second & fourth Monday of the month: 1 p.m. – 7 p.m. First Saturday of the month: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.	Viral PCR	Test ages 13+ No doctor order needed Low-income, uninsured, or under-insured	Yes	Spanish	Yes	Free (This site is a local safety-net clinic that offers testing to low-income, uninsured, and under-insured residents)
Drive-Through Collection Site (Arlington County/Quest)	M-F: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Viral PCR	Test ages 13+ Doctor order for test required; Symptoms required	No		No	Test billed to insurance (must provide health insurance)
INOVA Urgent Care – North Arlington	571-492-3080 M-F: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.	Viral PCR	Symptoms required OR Doctor order for pre-surgery test required	Yes	Spanish	Yes	Visit (if needed): $200* PCR: $50*
Preston’s Pharmacy	703-522-3412 M-F: 6 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sa: 6 a.m. – 4 p.m. Su: 6 a.m. 8 a.m.; 5 p.m. – 7 p.m.	Viral PCR	Test ages 2+ No doctor order needed	Yes	Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Russian	Yes (2-day and next day tests)	PCR 3-5 day: $35 weekday/$45 weekend booking fee; test billed to insurance PCR 2-day: $200 PCR next day: $350**
Urgent Care Center of Arlington	571-210-3161 M-F: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Sa/Su: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Viral PCR Antigen (Rapid)	No doctor order needed	Yes	Spanish	Yes	Visit (required): Copay or $150* PCR or Antigen: $50*
Xpress Care	703-521-2121 M-F: 9 a.m. – 8 p.m. Sa/Su: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.	Viral PCR Antibody	No doctor order needed	No	Spanish	Yes	PCR: $175* Antibody: $150*

* May or may not be covered by insurance

** Not covered by insurance; paid at time of test

Additional COVID-19 Testing Sites in the National Capital Region

At-Home COVID-19 Test Kits

Arlington County has compiled a list of at-home COVID-19 test kits that allow you to collect a sample for diagnostic testing at home. (Information current as of October 5, 2020. Please confirm specific details with each testing company.)

The presence of these links does not imply, and should not be interpreted as endorsement, sanction, approval or authorization of these sites or their content. Arlington County Government makes no guarantee or warranty, expressed or implied, concerning the content or accuracy of any material on any external website links.

What to Do After Testing

Individuals who visit collection sites are encouraged to follow the instructions of their health care provider and self-quarantine while they await their results. Test results will be available to the patient within five to seven business days.

If you test positive for COVID-19, see CDC’s guidance: If You Are Sick or Caring for Someone.

Anyone who is confirmed via lab testing with COVID-19 is investigated and monitored by the County’s Health Department:

The health department conducts a “contact investigation” to identify additional people who came in close contact with individuals in order to decrease the spread of the illness. Those close contacts will be self-quarantined and actively monitored for fever and respiratory symptoms. If close contacts start experiencing symptoms, they will immediately be tested.
The health department routinely conducts contact investigations for other communicable diseases like measles and tuberculosis–and now, COVID-19–to determine who is at high risk for exposure to stop the spread of the disease.

Virginia Department of Health: What to do if you have confirmed or suspected coronavirus disease (COVID-19)?

If you test negative for COVID-19, you probably were not infected at the time your specimen was collected. However, that does not mean you will not get sick. It is possible that you were very early in your infection at the time of your specimen collection and that you could test positive later, or you could be exposed later and then develop illness. In other words, a negative test result does not rule out getting sick later.

MORE: CDC’s Caring For Yourself at Home