The Green River District Health Department will continue to offer COVID-19 testing in all of the counties in its service area. In Daviess County, testing will be available on Wednesday.
Health Department Director Clay Horton said his agency has the resources to test 300 people a week through the Gravity Lab Program, offered by the Kentucky Department of Public Health.
Residents can schedule an appointment via healthdepartment.org and clicking the “Schedule COVID-19 Test,” which will take users to a page where one of the seven GRDHD sites can be selected before choosing an appointment time.
“We still have a need to preserve PPE for some of our personnel, so we’re going to try to schedule [tests] so we can get some extended use out of that PPE,” he said. “We’ll probably have to adjust [the scheduling availability] as we go, based on what the demand is.”
Horton also said he hopes testing can expand beyond 300 people a week.
“We’re also looking at two to three weeks down the road — looking at setting up other remote testing sites just based on demand, what’s going on in the community, and where we see the greatest need,” he said.
Horton said people do not have to show symptoms to be tested, but emphasized testing should still be reserved for those who need it most.
“It is pretty much anyone who wants to get a test can. However, I will say that we are seeing a fairly low positivity rate from our testing sites. We’re seeing a lot of people that are asymptomatic getting tested, and we think that’s contributing to that low positivity rate.”
Horton said he understood early frustrations from the community regarding screening for COVID-19 tests and low availability of testing equipment.
“We’re trying to break that barrier down. However, I think our recommendation would be to get tested if there’s a need,” he said. “If you test negative, you only test negative that day, and there’s a possibility you could become infected later.”
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The Owensboro Health coronavirus hotline is available 24/7 by calling 877-888-6647. Call the hotline before seeking in-person care. More information from OH can be found here.
For the latest information and data on COVID-19 in Kentucky visit kycovid19.ky.gov or dial the Kentucky state hotline at 800-722-5725.
For the latest health guidelines and resources from the CDC, visit their website here.
