City Opening Fourth COVID-19 Testing Site

Through a private contractor, the Milwaukee Health Department will offer a fourth COVID-19 testing site starting Tuesday, December 29th. It is the city’s first mobile testing site and will be located at Custer Stadium at Barack Obama High School, 4300 W. Fairmount Ave. on the city’s far North Side.

“We want to make sure testing is accessible to everyone that wants it at no cost here in Milwaukee,” said Mayor Tom Barrett during a press conference on Monday afternoon. “We intend at this juncture to have two mobile testing sites.”

In October the city began offering free testing at Miller Park, the Northwest Health Center at 7630 W. Mill Rd. and Southside Health Center at 1639 S. 23rd St.

“The city mobile testing will provide additional testing capacity in parts of the city of Milwaukee where the disease is prevalent,” said Barrett.

The mobile testing sites can be moved to serve other parts of the city if needed. Barrett said the location at Custer Stadium would be maintained, for starters, at this location for two weeks.

The mobile sites will also be privately run, whereas the health department, with public partners, staffs the other sites.

As a result an individual’s health insurance provider will be billed first. The city will serve as a payer of last resort. Barrett said that the city would cover the costs for individuals, even if they did not have health insurance. Curative Inc., unaffiliated with the local care network, is the testing provider.

The cost per test to the city, if not covered by an insurance provider, was not immediately available. Barrett said the costs would be covered by the city’s federal CARES Act allocation.

The hours for the new mobile site are weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and weekends from 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The city health centers are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Miller Park site is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. All of the community testing sites will be closed on January 1st.

A second mobile testing site is expected to be announced for the city’s South Side on Tuesday afternoon.

Appointments are not required at any of the community testing sites. Each of the sites accommodates drive-through or walk-up testing.

“We know that testing is an essential tool in limiting the spread of COVID-19,” said Barrett in encouraging people to get tested.

Custer Stadium was the site of a Wisconsin National Guard testing site for much of the pandemic, but the temporary facility was shuttered as the state transitioned the guard members to other regions.

Individuals looking for more information on community testing sites, including a shuttle bus, can visit milwaukee.gov/covidtesting.