By Tim Mastro

Curative Inc., one of the state’s main COVID-19 testing partners, will start billing insurance beginning Sunday.

Those getting tested at Curative’s sites should remember to bring their insurance cards, the Delaware Division of Public Health said. DPH added “people who are uninsured will not be turned away.”

A list of Curative sites in Delaware is available here. For a statewide list of sites, visit here. DPH said Delawareans are encouraged to contact the testing site to verify insurance requirements.

Curative is also no longer offering rapid COVID-19 testing at Oxford University Plaza in Newark and at Blue Hen Corporate Center in Dover.

Instead, Curative testing is available Monday through Friday (8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.) at Dover’s Modern Maturity Center, Laurel’s State Service Center and Claymont’s State Service Center.

Demand for testing has decreased in the last two weeks despite rising transmission rates in Delaware. The state is averaging 2,406.7 tests per day compared to 3,621 per day two weeks ago.

Delaware’s seven-day rolling average for new positive cases is up to 194.6 new cases per day. DPH reported 257 new positives in Friday’s update, bringing the state’s overall total to 262,461.

Hospitalizations remained at 66 for the second day in a row — the highest since March 3. Of those hospitalized, two are considered critical.

DPH also announced one new COVID-19-related death — a 72-year-old person from New Castle County. Delaware has recorded 2,907 COVID-19-related deaths since the start of the pandemic.