Complaints lodged against Covid testing company with site in Falls Church

A COVID-19 testing company with a location in Falls Church is the subject of numerous complaints from across the U.S. about its practices.

Attorneys general offices from Minnesota to Washington state have gotten complaints about testing sites run by the Center for COVID Control, according to USA Today. Reported issues have included results being delayed or not sent at all, and participants receiving identical QR codes for results from a lab at one testing center in Houston.

Center for COVID Control only has one testing site in Northern Virginia, located at 821 W Broad Street in Falls Church. A representative from the company said it’s in a parking lot for a dermatology business.

The Fairfax County Health Department, Virginia Department of Health, and state attorney general’s office said they’ve received no complaints about the business, which says it provides free testing at over 275 locations.

The company’s Twitter also says it provides rapid tests for $100.

However, local residents have expressed concerns on Nextdoor, and the company has received complaints from the Better Business Bureau stating that the centers asked to see individuals’ driver licenses and didn’t send results. One person questioned the timestamps on the results.

“Was the testing actually done? Is the result accurate?” the person wrote.

The need for testing comes as Fairfax County averages three times more coronavirus cases this January than it did during last winter’s peak.

The company didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Neither the county nor the state health department sanctions testing sites, but VDH has a map of locations that provide testing, and users can filter by free testing sites.

Virginia also plans to add nine community testing centers across the state, including one in Fairfax County, that will provide free PCR tests.

VDH spokesperson Cheryle Rodriguez said that individuals should immediately report any suspected COVID-19 health care fraud through an online form or by calling 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The Office of the Attorney General said if people believe they have a complaint against a business, they should reach out to its Consumer Protection Section.