Hours Cut at City’s Free COVID Test Sites

The hours of operation have been reduced at the two largest COVID-19 testing sites in Milwaukee. The change comes even as testing has fallen in Milwaukee County and across the state in recent weeks.

The city’s community testing sites will now operate from 11:00 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Both sites are closed on Sunday.

The sites were previously open until 7:00 p.m. Monday through Thursday. The cause for the change?

“On Tuesday, September 15, 2020 it was determined the National Guard testing locations would change their hours of operation to accommodate for fall daylight hours,” wrote the Milwaukee Health Department in a press release.

The free testing sites are located at 2701 S. Chase Ave. and in the parking lot across from Barack Obama School of Career and Technical Education (formerly Custer High School) at 4300 W. Fairmount Ave.

The outdoor sites are staffed by a partnership of the health department and Wisconsin National Guard.

When the sites originally opened in May they were staffed for 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Hours have been gradually scaled back.

Through Monday the Chase Ave. site, open since early May, has seen 83,200 specimens collected. The Fairmount Ave. site, which began operating on June 1st after an earlier site was closed because of logistical issues, has been the site of 32,500 specimen collections.

While no appointment is required, preregistration speeds up turnover at the site and can aid in response times. An August test by Urban Milwaukee lasted 22 minutes, with results arriving 41 hours later.

Across the state, the National Guard has supported the collection of 465,400 samples, including at jails, prisons, nursing homes and community testing sites.

Additional information on the testing sites, including those operated throughout the state, can be found on the DHS website.

Testing Photos