Scores of people took advantage of Thursday’s sunny, milder weather to get a free covid-19 screening at North Park.

The mobile testing site providing free coronavirus screenings was set up in the swimming pool parking lot from 1 to 4 p.m. on Jan. 21.

The screenings were done by Curative, a California-based company that has set up testing sites at more than 8,000 locations across the country.

The company is scheduled to return to North Park on Monday, Jan. 25 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to conduct another round of free testing.

Time slots to be tested can be reserved online.

The pain-free swab takes about 20 seconds to administer and results are emailed or sent by text within 48 hours.

While the screenings are being administered free of charge, the company asks that participants bring their medical insurance cards along. Insurance will be billed if the tests are covered by the policy.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend that people be tested for the coronavirus if they experience symptoms such as fever or chills, a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting and diarrhea.

People also should be tested if they have been in close contact with someone who has covid-19, which is defined by the CDC as spending 15 minutes or more within 6 feet of someone who has tested positive for the virus.

While anyone can experience mild symptoms, older people and those with severe underlying medical conditions such as diabetes or heart and lung disease appear to be at higher risk for developing more serious complications from covid, according to the federal health agency.

Not everyone needs to be tested. But people who do receive a screening should self-quarantine/isolate at home until they receive the test results.

Curative was founded in January 2020 to develop a new test for sepsis. But the company changed its focus to covid-19 testing in March to help address the growing need to screen people for the virus, according to the company’s online profile.

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