Frequently asked questions about COVID-19 testing

Before you go, check the website of the location you plan to visit. You should be prepared to bring the following:

• Insurance card, if you have insurance. If you have insurance, please provide this information and the lab will bill them. You will not be charged for the test. You do not need to have insurance or a doctor’s note to schedule a test.
• A well-fitted mask. As a healthcare facility, masks are required at all indoor and outdoor testing locations regardless of vaccination status.
• Testing is available regardless of your citizenship/immigration status. Photo ID is not required.

Anyone with signs or symptoms of COVID-19 should get tested as early as possible regardless of vaccination status.

Testing is also recommended in the following situations:

• If you are exposed to someone who has COVID-19 (within 6 feet of the person for 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period) seek testing 5 days after exposure.
• If asked to by your school, workplace, healthcare provider, state, or local health department.
• After travel all travelers should get tested if travel involved situations with greater risk of exposure such as being in crowded places while not wearing a well-fitting mask.

For testing guidance on domestic and international travel, see the Travel page on CDC's website.

1. You can get antigen and PCR/NAAT tests through a healthcare provider, clinic, test site, or lab.

Find a free or low-cost testing site, clinic or lab in King County. You will be asked to provide your ID and insurance card (if you have insurance), but it is not required to be tested.

2. You can also do an antigen test at home. These are called at-home, over-the-counter or rapid self-tests. Antigen tests can be purchased at a pharmacy, retailer, or online. If you have health insurance, it will cover 8 home tests per person each month (contact your insurer directly).

Or request free rapid test kits here:

• Department of Health – www.sayyescovidhometest.org or 1-800-525-0127

For free or low-cost testing options throughout King County, visit our COVID-19 testing page.

These sites are not operated by King County and there may be a cost for their testing services. Please check their website for more information.

You will be asked to provide your ID and insurance card (if you have insurance), but it is not required to be tested.

Check with the testing site directly for this information. Generally, results are available within 72 hours.

You can get tested at most testing sites even if you don't have symptoms. Find a list of community testing sites here.

Priority testing is given to those with symptoms or immediate risk for COVID-19.

Organizations should create their own testing policies. Check with your organization to find out what type of test they will accept.

King County endorses any type of COVID-19 test administered by a testing provider. Testing providers are required to use FDA-authorized or approved COVID-19 tests. Public Health does not endorse the use of antibody tests to diagnose current infection, in accordance with current CDC guidance.

People who have recently recovered from COVID-19 (within 90 days since a positive test) should use an antigen/self-test and not a NAAT/PCR/TMA test. NAAT tests are sensitive enough to pick up viral material up to 90 days after infection and could give an inaccurate result.

If you test positive for COVID-19 or are at higher risk from the disease, getting COVID-19 treatment early can help to protect from severe illness and hospitalization. Ask your healthcare provider to see if treatment is recommended for you.

Both are tests for COVID-19 and collected via a nasal swab. Antigen self-tests, sometimes called a “rapid test” or “home test,” detect components of the virus whereas molecular tests, such as PCR or TMA tests, detect genetic material of the virus.

Antigen tests are not performed in a laboratory. They are quicker, resulting in 15-30 minutes. Molecular PCR tests are performed in a laboratory and take up to 72 hours to result.

You can purchase an antigen self-test kit at pharmacies, retail stores and online or you can have it performed on-site at a facility that specializes in rapid testing.

Antigen self-tests can be less sensitive (meaning more likely to get a false negative or positive test), but their quick results can help separate those from having a positive result from those that don't and decrease transmission. PCR tests are very sensitive (meaning less likely to have a false positive or negative result) and are often referred to as the "Gold Standard" even though it may take longer to get the results.

If your test is positive:

• You most likely have COVID-19, even if you don’t have symptoms
• You don’t have to confirm the result by going to a lab, clinic, or testing site
• You do not need another test to seek treatment

What to do:

• Isolate for 5 days. Continue to wear a mask around others for five additional days after leaving isolation.
• If you are at higher risk from the disease, ask your healthcare provider or visit a Test to Treat clinic (available in English, Spanish, and Chinese) to ask about early treatment options.
• Tell your close contacts and household members you have tested positive.
• Notify your employer or school. See more about support for workers.
• Report rapid test results to Washington State Department of Health using one of the following two options:
• Report online. Go to safercovid.org/mytest, select your state, then complete the online form with your test results.
• Report by phone. Call 1-800-525-0127 and press # (press #7 for Spanish, or speak the language you need when the call is connected).
• If you need food or other assistance while isolating or quarantining, visit Care Connect Washington or call or text the program hotline, 1-833-453-0336.
• Answer the call or text from contact tracing. Your phone will identify the caller as "WA Health."

If you test positive and don't have symptoms and weren't exposed and are concerned this may be a false positive, consider repeat testing for confirmation.

• Two negative tests in a row are required to confirm a false positive.
• The tests must be taken greater than 24 hours and less than 48 hours apart.
• Rapid antigen tests or molecular PCR tests can be used. Rapid antigen tests can be purchased at a pharmacy and a molecular PCR test can be taken a confirmatory test through your healthcare provider or at a free or low-cost testing site in King County.

For a confirmatory negative test to override a rapid test result, the sample must be collected within 48 hours of the initial positive home-based, self-collected rapid test result.

If you test positive on the confirmation test, continue to isolate from others for 5 days (starting when you initially tested positive or when your symptoms started if you develop symptoms), regardless of your vaccination status.

If you are concerned that you might have COVID-19 because you were exposed or have symptoms, or that you might have a false negative result, then we recommend quarantining yourself and getting another COVID-19 test.

See "What is a confirmation test or repeat testing?" in Rapid self-testing, question #5.

Serial testing is when a person tests themselves multiple times for COVID-19 on a routine basis, such as every few days.

Options for repeat testing include:

• Getting tested again through your healthcare provider
• Going to a free or low-cost testing site in King County
• Doing an at-home rapid antigen test

For best results:

Continue to test (no more than once in a 24-hour period) with a rapid self-test during your quarantine period. This is called serial testing.

By testing more frequently, you might detect COVID-19 more quickly and could reduce the spread of infection.

Some self-administered tests come with more than one test and instructions for performing serial testing. For serial testing to be used as a confirmatory negative test, you must have two negative test results in a row.

If a repeat test is positive, isolate from others for 5 days since your positive test, OR, if you develop symptoms, enter isolation the date your symptoms started, regardless of your vaccination status.

Different brands of tests have different expiration dates. Do not use expired tests unless the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has extended the date printed on the box.

The FDA has extended the expiration dates for some brands, including iHealth and FlowFlex:

• For iHealth, add 6 MONTHS to the "use by" date

08 (August) becomes 02 (February)

• For FlowFlex, add 4 MONTHS to the "use by" date

08 (August) becomes 12 (December)

To look up other brands of tests, go to: bit.ly/FDAselftest.

Yes. Some sports are considered high risk for spreading COVID-19, such as water polo, indoor wrestling, basketball and cheer.

Insurance providers will reimburse families for up to eight tests per month. Learn more about insurance reimbursement (available in English only).

Testing is no longer required for travel within the US or when entering the US, but it is important to check COVID-19 Community Levels for your destination before you go and follow local guidelines.

Guidance for all travelers

Do not travel if you:

• have symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19
• are awaiting COVID-19 test results
• had close contact with a person with COVID-19 and are recommended to quarantine.

If you had close contact with a person with COVID-19 but are NOT recommended to quarantine:

• Get tested at least 5 days after your last close contact. Make sure your test result is negative and you remain without symptoms before traveling.
• If you had confirmed COVID-19 within the past 90 days, you do NOT need to get tested, but you should still follow all other recommendations (including getting tested if you develop COVID-19 symptoms).

International travel

Travelers are no longer required to show a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 prior to boarding a flight to the U.S. CDC continues to recommend that those travelers boarding a flight to the U.S. get tested for current infection with a viral test as close to the time of departure as possible (no more than 3 days) and not travel if they are sick.

Testing may be required for travel to countries outside of the US.

See full guidance for international travel on the CDC website.

People who are fully vaccinated with an FDA-authorized vaccine can travel safely within the United States. While the CDC says it is safe to do so, they still discourage non-essential travel as it can contribute to the spread of COVID-19, which is still moderate-to-high in most of the country.

Testing is no longer required for travelers, but it is important to check COVID-19 Community Levels for your destination before you go and follow local guidelines.

If your destination changes its guidelines to require a negative test, The following sites provide COVID-19 testing that specializes in rapid tests. These sites are not affiliated with Public Health – Seattle & King County. Please visit their website for location, hours, and cost information.

• Port of Seattle at SeaTac airport
• Atlas Genomics
• COVID Clinic
• Carbon Health

Domestic travel

Recommended for all travelers:

• Get tested if your travel involved situations with greater risk of exposure such as being in crowded places while not wearing a well-fitting mask or respirator.
• Follow additional guidance if you know you were exposed to a person with COVID-19
• Self-monitor for COVID-19 symptoms; isolate and get tested if you develop symptoms.
• If your test is positive or you develop COVID-19 symptoms, isolate yourself to protect others from getting infected.

If you have fully recovered from COVID-19 in the last 3 months, you do NOT need to get tested, but should still follow all other travel recommendations.

For full guidance on domestic travel, see the CDC website.

International travel

Travelers are no longer required to show a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 prior to boarding a flight to the U.S. CDC continues to recommend that those travelers boarding a flight to the U.S. get tested for current infection with a viral test as close to the time of departure as possible (no more than 3 days) and not travel if they are sick.

See full guidance for international travel on the CDC website.

• For more information about traveling during the COVID-19 pandemic, please visit the CDC's guidance for travelers.
• For international travel, please visit the U.S. Department of State's guidance.