COVID-19 testing in Philly: City residents warned of unaffiliated testing tents – WPVI-TV

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — The City of Philadelphia is warning residents about some pop-up COVID-19 testing tents that have appeared recently.

In a news release issued Monday, the city said the Health Department was notified about these tents last week.

The sites were offering free COVID-19 testing in Center City.

City officials say the testing tent staffers claimed to be funded by FEMA, but confirmed over the weekend that was not true.

Residents who see the pop-up testing tests are asking residents to report them to the Health Department by calling 215-685-5488.

Action News is working to obtain more details about this warning and we will update this post as we learn more.

The city said it maintains an official testing finder at phila.gov/testing, but cautioned that there is an “overwhelming need for testing right now.”

“People who are experiencing symptoms, but cannot find testing, are encouraged to act as if they are already positive,” the city said.

Philadelphia officials say 38 percent of COVID-19 tests in the city have come back positive in the last two weeks.

The city is averaging 2,654 new cases of COVID-19 per day over the last two weeks, officials said.