Columbus-area health department receives new coronavirus tests Friday after running out
The state health district charged with covering a 16-county area surrounding Columbus received 25 coronavirus test collection kits Friday after running out Thursday.
Pamela Kirkland, spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health’s West Central Health District, initially told the Ledger-Enquirer the department would not receive the supplies, but a private lab ended up sending the department collection kits.
The department ran out after testing 32 people combined on Wednesday and Thursday before exhausting its stock.
The department, which covers Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor and Webster counties, got its first kits Wednesday. The test collection took place at 2100 Comer Avenue in Columbus, and it is the only state-run collection site in the district.
Most of Georgia’s COVID-19 samples have been tested through private labs. Of the 1,831 coronavirus tests conducted as of March 19, 1,323 have been through private labs like LabCorp and Quest.
Health officials are prioritizing state testing for people most vulnerable to COVID-19 and the individuals responsible for caring for them.
The Georgia Department of Public Health on Thursday confirmed 287 cases of COVID-19 in the state, up by 90 from Wednesday’s count. Ten people have now died from the novel coronavirus in Georgia. Columbus reported its first positive case Thursday.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated with new information about the number of collection kits in Muscogee County.
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 2:10 PM.