Free community COVID-19 testing extended to early January

Additional days of free COVID-19 testing will be available to the general public at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium in early January under a partnership between UW–Madison, the University of Wisconsin System and the federal government.

Nearly 20,000 tests have been provided so far to the general public at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium through the program, which began Nov. 12. Testing is by appointment at doineedacovid19test.com and results are available in as little as 15 minutes.

The testing was originally scheduled to run through late December. UW–Madison is now extending it to Jan. 4-7 at Nielsen Tennis Stadium. After that, the university will need to use the testing site for Safer Badgers, an expanded campus testing program for the spring semester. Any remaining rapid test kits will be shared with other UW System testing sites around the state. Free community testing will continue to be available through Public Health Madison & Dane County.

The Nielsen testing site is open to anyone, regardless of home address. Those returning from holiday travel are encouraged to take advantage of local testing options, though keep in mind that the presence of a negative test doesn’t automatically make it safe to gather with those outside of your immediate household. See more details from PHMDC.

“These free rapid tests provide another testing option for the greater Madison community and we’re pleased to be able to offer these additional days even as we get ready for a major expansion of campus testing in the spring,” says Rob Cramer, interim associate vice chancellor for facilities planning and management.

The schedule is as follows:

• Dec. 22: 8:30 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
• Dec. 23: 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
• Dec. 24 – Jan. 3: Site closed
• Jan. 4 – 7: 8:30 a.m.-6 p.m.