Rapid COVID-19 testing resumes at Portland International Jetport

File photo Portland International Jetport is slated to get $4.8 million as part of broader funding for airports across the state.

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By Jessica Hall

Portland International Jetport has partnered with a California startup, Curative Inc., to offer rapid COVID-19 testing for passengers and the general public.

The Jetport had previously offered COVID-19 testing onsite from November 2020 to April through Promerica Health, and had also conducted summer vaccination clinics.

“Now, unfortunately, with cases going up, we have a need again for testing,” Zachary Sundquist, assistant airport director, told Mainebiz.

The Curative testing site opened on Wednesday and will operate every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with no proof of insurance required. It’s already booking quickly for appointments around Christmas and New Year’s, Sundquist said.

The Jetport provides the space to Curative as a community service. Curative handles the testing.

"Curative is proud to be partnering with Portland Jetport and be a crucial resource for the community during this pandemic," said Fred Turner, CEO and co-founder of Curative.

"Curative's goal is to make testing more accessible with our easy COVID-19 testing sites. We offer a simple testing option with results delivered directly to patients within 1-2 hours and at no out-of-pocket cost to patients."

Curative offers rapid shallow nasal PCR, or polymerase chain reaction, testing for COVID-19. Once the patient completes the test, the results are delivered efficiently and quickly.

"The Portland International Jetport is pleased to resume COVID-19 testing for passengers traveling, and to assist our community at-large" said Airport Director Paul Bradbury. "We are pleased that Curative has agreed to work with us to provide this needed resource."

Appointments are available at curative.com as well as additional information on other testing sites in Maine and nationwide.

Curative was founded in January 2020, initially to help improve outcomes for sepsis patients. As the pandemic escalated, the company shifted to focus on rapidly scalable COVID testing processes.

With a network of over 16,000 sites across over 40 states, Curative has provided over 26 million COVID-19 tests and over 2 million COVID-19 vaccines.