No COVID-19 testing on Christmas, but here’s where you can get a free test this weekend in Anchorage

All COVID-19 test sites in Anchorage will be closed Christmas Day, but there are several locations where people in the municipality can get a free test the rest of the holiday weekend.

On Saturday, the city will have a pop-up testing site set up at 2900 Denali St. by the former Midtown Denny’s, near REI.

Testing is also available Saturday and Monday at the Loussac Library, Changepoint Church, Muldoon Community Assembly, 4115 Lake Otis Parkway and in Eagle River at 11801 Business Blvd. On Sunday, just the Lake Otis Parkway location will be open for testing.

Another pop-up testing site — this time at the Anchorage School District Education Center on Northern Lights Boulevard — will be open Monday.

Wait times at the testing sites are short right now, according to Audrey Gray, information officer with the Anchorage Emergency Operations Center. Not as many people in the city are seeking testing as before, though it’s not clear exactly why. Turnaround times for test results are also swift, usually between 48 and 72 hours, though officials have seen them turned around in as little as 13 hours, she said. Results are coming in significantly faster than in previous weeks.

The percentage of positive results among those tested in Anchorage has gone down recently. In mid-November, Anchorage’s test positivity rate stretched above 10%, Janet Johnston, an epidemiologist with the city health department, reported to the Anchorage Assembly on Tuesday evening. Testing positivity has now fallen to around 6% or 7%, though officials would like it below 5%, Johnston said. (Health experts say anything above 5% can indicate inadequate testing and potentially widespread community transmission.)

Hospitals remain strained and the city is still far above the baseline for high alert levels for COVID-19 spread, Johnston said. While case counts are on the decline, they’ll need to continue declining in order to avoid future and continued strain on the health care system.

Health officials are urging people to cut back on their holiday gatherings this year. People should stick to their own household and avoid adding anyone new to their bubbles during the holiday season, Gray said.

Those who meet the criteria to get a COVID-19 test include people with even the mildest symptoms and those who are a close contact of someone who recently tested positive for the illness. Officials also recommend that health care workers and staff at congregate living settings get tested regularly.

More information about the municipality’s COVID-19 testing locations is available at anchoragecovidtest.org.

[Tracking COVID-19 in Alaska: 2 deaths, 279 new infections reported Thursday]

[Most Alaskans are wearing masks and believe they work, survey shows]