Hayward COVID-19 Testing Center moves to drop-in service with shift to new diagnostic lab

HAYWARD, Calif., Feb. 19, 2021—The City of Hayward COVID-19 Testing Center is now providing coronavirus testing on a drop-in basis rather than by appointment as part of a switch to a new diagnostic laboratory for analyzing test samples.

The Center’s drive-up Testing Site will continue to operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the former Skywest Golf Course, 1401 Golf Course Road, adjacent to Hayward Executive Airport.

Under a funding agreement with Alameda County Department of Public Health, test samples taken at the Site will be analyzed by PerkinElmer diagnostics, with test registration and results information managed by Color, a population health technology company based in Burlingame.

Testing through the Center is available to anyone age 12 and older, regardless of place of residence or immigration status.  No fee will be charged and no physician referral is required.  Test results are to be available within 48 hours or earlier, depending on test volume.  For additional support obtaining test results, Color can be reached at (844) 352-6567 and mycovidtest@color.com.

Pre-registration for COVID-19 testing through the Center is encouraged and can be completed online here.  During registration, people will be asked to provide a phone number and email address for receiving test results.

Additionally, though no fee will be charged to users of the Testing Center, insurance information will be collected to allow for cost reimbursement from private and public health insurance systems and to help sustain Center operations.

The Hayward COVID-19 Testing Center was established by the Hayward Fire Department on March 23—just 12 days after declaration of a local emergency over the emerging global pandemic.

It has played a vital role in taking pressure off area emergency rooms, giving quicker answers to health care workers and first responders with coronavirus exposures and helping slow community spread through isolation after detection of infections.

Since it opened, the Center has processed more than 62,000 for the viral pathogen that causes COVID-19—and remains a mainstay of COVID-19 testing in Alameda County.