COVID Testing

Testing sites

Drive-up testing

You can get tested for COVID-19 at the county’s FIU / Youth Fairgrounds at Tamiami Park testing site. To get tested at that site or any other county site, you need to make an appointment online. The tests are free, and appointments are available 7 days a week.

Walk-up testing

FIU is partnering with Curative to offer free COVID-19 testing at on-campus walk-up testing stations for students, faculty and staff. Hour of operation are 9am - 4pm Monday through Friday. Please note this testing station is a walk-up only; there is no designated parking in the vicinity. To make an appointment, please visit Curative.com.

Other options

You also can get a test from your medical provider or a commercial site such as CVS. Students, faculty and staff have the following resources:

Faculty and staff
Call FIU Health at 305-348-3627 to schedule an appointment. Tests are administered Monday through Friday at FIU Health’s MMC location beginning at 4 pm each day. Appointments must be made at least one day in advance.
You can get the following tests at an FIU facility:
- Nasal swab (RT-PCR) molecular test. Results in 24-48 hours. Patient’s insurance will be billed. If you have no insurance, the self-pay price is $100. (Offered at FIU Health MMC)
- Antibody blood test. Results in 24-48 hours. Patient’s insurance will be billed. If you have no insurance, the self-pay price is $60. (Offered at FIU Health MMC)
Students
Call the FIU Student Health Center at 305-348-2401 to make an appointment at MMC or 305-919-5620 to make an appointment at BBC. Appointments must be made at least one day in advance.
You can get the following tests at an FIU facility:
- Nasal swab (RT-PCR) molecular test. Results in 24-48 hours. Patient’s insurance will be billed. If you have no insurance, the self-pay price is $100. (Offered at FIU Student Health MMC and BBC)
- Antibody blood test. Results in 24-48 hours. Patient’s insurance will be billed. If you have no insurance, the self-pay price is $60. (Offered at FIU Student Health MMC)

Types of tests

Two kinds of tests are available for COVID-19: viral tests and antibody tests.

A viral test tells you if you have a current infection. There are two methods of testing:

Standard Molecular Testing (RT-PCR): This common coronavirus (COVID-19) test checks samples from your respiratory system, such as a swab from the inside of your nose, to see if you are currently infected. These viral tests are sent to a laboratory for analysis and results can take several days.
Antigen (Rapid COVID-19) Testing: An antigen, or rapid COVID-19 test, is another type of diagnostic test and can provide results in less than an hour. Positive results are usually highly accurate but negative results may need to be confirmed with a standard, molecular test.

An antibody test might tell you if you had a past infection.

The CRT does NOT accept antigen OR antibody tests. Make sure to request the PCR Test for contact tracing documentation. If you want to know more about the differences in these tests, please visit FDA Testing Basics.

Who should get tested?

We strongly suggest all close contacts get tested 5-6 days after their exposure. Additionally, if you receive a red notice on the P3 app because you are having symptoms, you will be required to be tested before returning to campus.

The following is a list of symptoms associated with COVID-19 (but there may be others):

Fever (temperature of 100.4 degrees F or higher) or chills
Cough
Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing
Fatigue
Muscle or body aches
Headaches
New loss of taste or smell
Sore throat
Congestion or runny nose
Nausea or vomiting
Diarrhea

In general, having cough, shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, or new loss of taste or smell or having more than one of any of the symptoms above would increase the urgency for getting tested for COVID-19 due to an increased likelihood that the illness is COVID-19.

Is it the flu or COVID-19?

Influenza (flu) and COVID-19 are both contagious respiratory illnesses, but they are caused by different viruses. While they share many of the same characteristics, there are some key differences between the two. It may be hard for you to tell whether you have the flu or COVID-19 based on symptoms alone, and testing may be needed to help confirm a diagnosis.

While more is learned every day, there is still a lot that is unknown about COVID-19 and the virus that causes it. The CDC has a list of symptoms that compares COVID-19 and the flu, given the best available information to date.

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