Free CCP Virus Testing for All Colorado Residents, Even Those With No Symptoms: Governor

Free CCP Virus Testing for All Colorado Residents, Even Those With No Symptoms: Governor
A health worker with the Colorado Department of Health and Environment talks with a man who is waiting for a drive-up testing site for the CCP virus to open in Denver, Colo. on March 13, 2020. (Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images)
Zachary Stieber
5/18/2020
Updated:
5/18/2020

All Colorado residents can get tested for the CCP virus even if they don’t have symptoms, Democratic Gov. Jared Polis said Monday.

“We now have enough testing that if you have symptoms, you can get tested: convenient, near you, free,” he said at a press conference.

“We are now testing in Colorado everybody who’s asymptomatic who wants to get tested. It’s free, no out-of-pocket, whether you have insurance or not,” he added later.

Residents with flu-like symptoms are particularly encouraged to get tested. State officials said the number of flu cases are down amid strict social distancing measures, making it more likely that people with symptoms like fever, cough, or headache, have COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

According to the COVID-19 website for Colorado’s government, people do not have to get tested if they don’t have symptoms.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis, center, talks with President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on May 13, 2020. (Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images)
Colorado Governor Jared Polis, center, talks with President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington on May 13, 2020. (Doug Mills/Pool/Getty Images)

“If you think you have been exposed, limit your contact with other people. However, if you work in a care facility, work at a facility with an outbreak, or you have been in close contact with someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, it may be advisable to get a test even if you don’t have symptoms,” the website states.

People can use a map on the site to find a testing location near them. There are 32 across the state.

Testing is an important part of making progress against the virus, Polis said. Thousands of tests are being done daily in the Western state, which has nearly 22,000 confirmed cases out of over 126,000 people tested as of May 17.

Officials have recorded over 3,800 hospitalizations due to the new virus and 878 deaths due to COVID-19.

A number of regions have carried out free testing, including Los Angeles, some parts of West Virginia, and several sites in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.