Efforts to expand COVID-19 testing continue to be limited by the availability of supplies. State Health Commissioner Dr. Kris Box has set a goal of being able to take 6,300 tests per day, but so far, testing levels have been well below that.
Box gave an update during state officials’ COVID-19 briefing Wednesday. “From the standpoint of having labs and systems that are ready and willing to do the testing, we have that,” she said. “Now, the question is, ‘Do all the places that are open and available to test for individuals, are they accessible? Do we have them all over the state? And do they have the swabs and the viral transport media that the need to do that testing?’”
Box noted that the swabs, in particular, have been in short supply, and she’s been working with FEMA to try to get more. “The federal government has taken over the supply of a lot of this,” she explained. “It’s not a question of money. I have plenty of money. If I can find them, I buy them and will buy them.”
For now, Dr. Box is encouraging health care providers to test anyone who is showing symptoms of COVID-19, but isn’t extending that to include most asymptomatic individuals. State health officials are also working with labs to develop new testing methods that will help increase availability.
