It probably isn’t a hyperbole to say that COVID-19 has changed traveling forever. In order to protect its citizens from import cases, many destinations now required travelers to show negative COVID-19 test results before arrival or be placed in a mandatory quarantine. While each destination has different requirements regarding time of testing, most required a real-time Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (rtPCR) nasal swap test result. This page has links to travel guidelines for all 50 states and Washington D.C.
Lucky for us San Diegan, The City of San Diego offers a free walk-in COVID-19 testing service at the Tubman-Chavez Community Center from 8:30 - 4:00 pm daily. The result can be expected between 3-5 business days but many people have written online that they receive the result back within 24 hours.
Entrance to the Tubman-Chavez Community Center.
The Test Site
Parking for the test site can be found along the street on Market Street. I arrived around 9:00 am on a Sunday morning and there were no wait for the test. There is a sign in front of the center with instruction to pre-register for the test on your smartphone. Make sure to follow the the steps of selecting a “walk-up appointment” and input the site code DOLPHIN (not sure if this change periodically or not). Once completed, you will be asked to check-in with a photo ID and confirm your contact information. A negative result will be emailed to you while a positive result will be followed-up by both an email and a phone call.
Pre-registration instruction. Follow all the steps carefully!
Show this registration confirmation page to the guard and you will be let in to a check-in counter.
The Test
The test itself is a nasal swap test where the nurse will stick a really long Q-tip one inch up each of your nostrils and rub around for about 10 seconds. It is a bit unpleasant but this is the only test that is acceptable for traveling.
My overall experience with the testing was smooth. Aside from the initial hiccup with the registration process (my fault for not following instruction), I was in and out of the test center within 10 minutes.
The Result
My friend and I both getting tested at the same time on Sunday morning. He received his result via email on Monday while I got mine Tuesday afternoon. If your destination requires a test 72 hour before departure, I recommended that you have a back-up plan in case the result does not come back before your travel. US Specialty Lab in Sorrento Valley offers is one of the cheapest and fastest paid alternative that I considered if this free test does not come in time.
The result came in a PDF document with the City of San Diego letterhead.
Stay safe, wear a mask, and happy traveling in the new normal!