San Francisco International Airport (SFO) this week announced it is the first airport in the U.S. to provide free COVID-19 testing for international arriving passengers, hosting a pilot program with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).
The program equips travelers with registered self-testing kits, allowing the CDPH to monitor for COVID-19 variants in the state and develop mitigation strategies.
“We are proud to be the first airport in this pilot program with the California Department of Public Health,” said Ivar Satero, SFO director. “Throughout this pandemic, SFO has been leading the airport industry in developing onsite testing and vaccination capabilities. With this program, we take another important step forward in understanding how to track and defeat this pandemic.”
Under the program, arriving international passengers at SFO will be provided two free Abbot BinaxNOWTM test kits and a PCR test kit. The first test is to be self-administered on the day of arrival, and the second test three to five days later.
The Abbot test kits return results in about 15 minutes. If either result in a positive test, the participant will be directed to use the PCR test and send results into a state lab monitoring variants of COVID-19.
The program is voluntary and is expected to run for approximately five weeks.
