Nearly 500 Fort Carson residents are in quarantine and eight in isolation, officials said Wednesday ahead of the Thursday opening of an on-post coronavirus testing center.

Forty-two individuals have been tested on post, and the five results returned so far have been negative, Col. Eric Edwards, commander of Evans Army Community Hospital, said Wednesday afternoon.

Many of the quarantined are soldiers and family members who were skiing this past weekend and have been placed under quarantine as a precaution, according to Edwards.

“We’re not taking any risks here,” he said.

As state and county health officials shift to urging those with mild symptoms and no underlying risk factors to self-isolate, saying that testing isn’t necessary in many cases, Edwards said members of the Fort Carson community are urged to get tested if they display symptoms, even if they’re manageable at home.

“We are probably overly cautious here at Fort Carson for a great reason: We want to be able to provide the very best for our soldiers and their families,” he said, adding that the differing response is an opportunity to “build trust” within the post’s community and preserve force readiness.

“It’s about building a lethal force here at Fort Carson,” he said.

The post’s new testing center, located at the post’s hospital, will provide screening, testing and treatment for Department of Defense ID card-holders with coronavirus symptoms beginning at 7 a.m. Thursday.

The center, which will operate from 7 a.m.-10 p.m. every day, will be away from the ER, as well as places in the hospital healthy patients might visit, like the pharmacy.

Tests will be run by an outside agency, such as the state or a private lab. Tests are currently being run by LabCorp, and a four- or five-day turnaround is expected, officials said.

The post is experiencing frustrations similar to other agencies attempting to obtain testing supplies. But “right now we feel like we have the quantity on hand to meet the needs of our patients,” said Nathan Evans, chief medical officer for coronavirus operations on post.

“If we’re overreacting by setting up a center and putting people in masks and no one ever gets admitted to this hospital with (coronavirus), that’s a massive win,” Evans said. “And everybody is hoping that is the case.”