Statewide Iowa — Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced Thursday that the “Test Iowa” screenings for COVID-19 will be open to anyone who wants a test.
(As above) “Later today, we’ll be opening the criteria so that anyone who thinks they should be tested can be,” Reynolds said late this morning. “This is especially important as more Iowans return to work, so if you’re interested in being tested, please go to www.TestIowa.com and take the assessment, so this change will be effective by the end of the day.”
There are currently eight “Test Iowa” locations in Iowa and testing had been limited to people with symptoms or who’d been around someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19, as well as Iowans with so-called “essential” jobs in health care settings or manufacturing and meat packing plants.
(As above) “More than 3000 Iowans have been tested at ‘Test Iowa’ sites since Monday and more than 700 appointments are already scheduled for today,” Reynolds says.
When Reynolds announced the Test Iowa program in April, she said it would expand the state’s testing capacity by three-thousand tests per day and it has yet to reach that target. Reynolds says the Test Iowa program currently has enough kits to test 200-thousand people, but it’s not clear how Test Iowa appointments will be prioritized and scheduled now that anyone who wants a test can register for one.
(As above) “You know, we’re going to learn as we ramp up and continue to offer this opportunity to more Iowans,” Reynolds says. “There’s going to be some bumps in the road, but that’s to be expected.”
The governor hinted that more testing sites will be established.
(As above) “We’ll be announcing next week, early next week another phase that will be opening up that will provide Iowans access to testing,” she says.
The Governor made her comments during her daily press conference late Thursday morning.
