By: KDKA-TV News Staff
HARRISBURG (KDKA) – Gov. Tom Wolf and the state’s director of testing and contact tracing unveiled a new COVID-19 testing strategy for the state Tuesday.
The governor says the Pennsylvania Health Department has expanded its contract with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare to deploy five “regional testing strike teams” over the next 12 weeks.
“The strike teams will provide testing services to residents of 61 out of 67 counties that don’t have their own county health department,” Gov. Wolf said.
Starting Wednesday, he says free testing will begin in four counties with rapidly rising cases: Bedford, Mifflin, Tioga and Northampton counties. There will be a fifth location opening Friday in Butler County.
“The department of health will continue to deploy testing based on the total number of confirmed cases per 100,000 people in a county as well as where outbreaks are currently happening,” said the Director of Testing and Contact Tracing, Michael Huff. “Increased testing will assist in determining the prevalence virus and assist the counties in moving forward.”
These teams will then move to new locations each week, with information about where they’ll be posted to the health department’s website.
“Our goal is to ensure that everyone who needs a test in Pennsylvania will get one,” said Gov. Wolf.
He said Pennsylvania has come a long way with expanding its testing capability. During the three-month period of March to May, the state administered 67,000 COVID tests, he said, and now the state can do nearly that many in one day.
With these sites, Huff says testing will be available daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through Sunday. The Butler County site at Michelle Krill Field at 100 Pullman Park Place will be open through Tuesday with the same hours.
No appointment is necessary. Patients are “encouraged” to bring a photo ID or insurance card. Registration will be completed on site, and the turnaround time for results will be two to seven days, Huff said.
Each location will test up to 450 patients daily using the PCR tests on a first-come, first-serve basis.
It comes as the Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 5,676 new coronavirus cases and 180 additional deaths.
On Monday, health secretary Dr. Rachel Levine said she’s “very concerned” about the impact Thanksgiving will have on the state’s surge of COVID-19 cases.
“This right now — November, December, January, February — looks like it’s going to be the peak time in terms of transmission of COVID-19 during this global pandemic,” she said.
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December 02, 2020 at 02:25AM
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COVID-19 In Pennsylvania: Health Department Deploying 5 ‘Regional Testing Strike Teams’ Throughout The State - CBS Pittsburgh
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