The nonprofit Community Organized Relief Effort (CORE) is launching pop-up coronavirus testing this weekend along D.C.’s protest routes — following a week of long lines and wait times at the city’s walk-up centers.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, CORE will be offering walk-up testing at 3000 Pennsylvania Ave., and at Howard Theatre on T Street on Saturday, with partner Curative Inc. providing the tests. Protesters taking to D.C.’s streets for a third weekend of demonstrations will be allowed to receive a swab test without an appointment, any form of identification, or symptoms, according to CORE. Free PPE will be provided, but people are encouraged to wear their own masks.

The new pop-up testing sites follow weeks of expanding coronavirus testing measures in response to D.C.’s protests against police brutality and racial injustice that began on May 29. Earlier in June, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser encouraged anyone protesting to get tested, and expressed concern over possible spikes in the city’s coronavirus trends as demonstrations grew larger. On Saturday, June 6, crowds sizes were estimated to be in the thousands.

The city currently has 13 free walk-up testing sites, including locations in Anacostia, Judiciary Square, University of the District of Columbia’s campus, and 10 different fire stations. Appointments for testing can be made at different private and insurance-provided centers across the city, and drive-thru testing appointments are available in Anacostia and at UDC. Three CVS pharmacies in D.C. are also offering pre-scheduled testing.

Lines and wait times predictably grew as more and more people sought a test after demonstrating in recent weeks. According to reports on Monday, wait times at city-run sites took anywhere from 25 minutes to two hours, and later in the week, lines swelled at firehouses, some taking over three hours to get through. One resident reported waiting in line for four hours at a Ward 3 walk-up site this week, and others expressed frustration with getting to the Judiciary Square testing site, as the Judiciary Square Metro stop is currently closed. 

Following the opening of these new sites earlier this month — and officials’ pleas for protesters to get tested — testing rates were expected to increase throughout early June. As of June 11, the city had tested 4,801 people since June 8, and 9,451 D.C. residents have been tested since June 1.

In total, 61,953 people have been tested in D.C. and 21.4% of those are not D.C. residents.

In Maryland, testing locations require a valid form of ID, and most require an appointment or physician’s note. The state is also turning its vehicle emission inspection facilities into testing centers for high-risk and symptomatic patients, and Six Flags opened for appointment-free testing on June 10 and June 12.

In Virginia, most testing sites require an appointment or physicians referral. Various CVS locations are also offering testing in Maryland and Virginia.

As D.C. looks toward loosening more restrictions, testing capacity and percent positivity rate are key metrics for a phase two reopening. In order to progress into phase two, officials would like to see a sustained positivity rate (the proportion of positive tests out of total residents tested) below 15% for seven days. As of June 4, the city reported a 9.1% positivity rate. 

Victoria Chamberlin contributed reporting to this story, which has been updated to reflect that CORE and Curative Inc. are working together to provide tests.