New COVID-19 testing site up and running in El Paso County

FOUNTAIN, Colo. (KRDO) -- As the demand for COVID-19 testing surges, a brand new testing site is now open in El Paso County.

The new location, in the shopping center on US Highway 85-87, near Fontaine Boulevard is one of four sites to get free testing in El Paso County.

"Of all the locations here in El Paso County, that this particular corner, this Southeast corner of El Paso County, had great need," El Paso County Board of Health President, Dr. Jim Terbush said.

Health officials hope the new site will help absorb some of the long lines and wait times seen at other locations and serve as a potential vaccine distribution site when the time comes.

"Citizens of Fountain were using this testing location quite a bit, so it had to be moved to a better location," Pikes Peak Regional Office of Emergency Management Director, Jim Reid said.

The demand for increased testing comes as Governor Jared Polis doubled down on the need to slow the spread of the virus, extending the statewide mask mandate through the end of November. He also offered a glimmer of hope this week that a vaccine may be on the way.

"We're hopeful there will be some dosage in 2020, likely in the low hundreds of thousands for Colorado. It could be 100,000 to 200,000 that will be used according to the vaccination plan that we submitted," Governor Polis said.

Although widespread availability is not projected until at least Spring of 2021, officials are considering locations like this new testing site as means of implementation.

"We will be looking at various sights throughout our whole community for vaccine distribution as vaccine becomes available and this would be one of the sites we would be using for that," Lisa Powell, Emergency Preparedness and Response Program Manager for El Paso County Public Health, said.

Until then, officials plan for the building, which is also home to city and county first responders, to take on additional health and economic needs in the community that may arise.

"This is really what we've imagined, that this would be sort of a food court if you will, of helping agencies that would be able to co-locate and make for quick referral," Terbush said.

Testing at the new location in Fountain is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. - 4 p.m.

For more information, visit the El Paso County Health website.