DIXON, Ill. (WTVO) — Pop-up COVID testing sites in Illinois and across the nation are shutting down after an avalanche of complaints.
All “Center for Covid Control” testing locations nationwide are shutting down from Friday, January 14th through January 21st.
“Majority of complaints allege that there’s no response after the taking of the test,” said Steve Bernas with the Better Business Bureau, which has given the chain an “F” rating. “There’s a payment required for expedited services, and they don’t get the expedited response.”
The Center for Covid Control is facing federal scrutiny after patients have reported getting negative test results there, but then getting a positive result elsewhere.
The company operates 300 locations across the U.S., including:
- 4976 Hononegah Road, Roscoe
- 717 N. State Street, Belvidere
- 6501 N. 2nd Street, Loves Park
- 5505 E. State Street, Rockford
- 168 Keul Road, Dixon
The Lee County Health Department responded to the closure of the Dixon location, across from Culvers on N. Galena Ave, “We’d received complaints and passed them on to the company. It sounds as though there have been widespread complaints in other states as well.”
The company released a statement saying, “Center for Covid Control is committed to providing high-quality testing services while ensuring we are compliant with all regulations and achieving high levels of patient satisfaction. We are doubling down on these commitments by temporarily closing all locations in order to retrain our management and staff while rolling out new procedures to help meet the unprecedented demand for testing.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul issued a warning to residents across the state to be cautious when it comes to pop-up COVID-19 testing sites.
Raoul says the pop-up sites are not licensed or regulated by any government agency.
Although the Illinois Department of Public Health posts a list of state-sponsored testing sites, officials ask those who visit a non-state-sponsored site to make a phone call and find out when test results will be communicated and who to call with questions or concerns about results.
Click here for a list of all testing sites available in Illinois.
