Testing Capacity Expanded Across PA Amid Ongoing COVID-19 Surge

Justin Heinze
·2 min read

PENNSYLVANIA — New coronavirus testing sites are being established across Pennsylvania as part of a new strategy to combat the virus and its ongoing surge.

Five different "strike teams" will provide the testing, eventually moving across 61 of the state's 67 counties, marking a major expansion of the existing state program.

“Every day COVID continues to spread in the commonwealth, every day our numbers continue to rise, and that puts our health care system and our health care workers at greater risk,” Gov. Wolf said Tuesday, in announcing the plan.

The strike teams are formed as part of the Department of Health's contract with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare. The state's contract with AMI was extended this week.

The original contract with AMI had deployed two teams to 11 different counties, where need was thought to be the greatest based both on the presence of the virus and on the availability of other testing options.

“We have seen a rapid increase of positive case counts reaching record-high levels, which gives us significant cause for concern,” said Michael Huff, the state's director of testing and contact tracing.

The new initiative will be in place for the next 12 weeks, officials said. The sites can handle up to 450 patients per day.

The state passed 10,000 coronavirus last week, and a rise in daily case loads has begun place a strain on hospitals.

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Tests are free and available to anyone who thinks they need one. Residents do not need to show symptoms in order to be tested at these locations, and no appointment is required.

Officials encourage residents to be tested, and note that testing is an important way for health experts to understand the course of the virus and where mitigation measures should be targeted.

The strike teams will open up drive-thru and walk-up sites in Bedford, Mifflin, Tioga, and Northampton counties on Dec. 2, and in Butler County on Dec. 4, before moving on to other parts of the state. An exact schedule has not yet been published. Locations are listed below:

  • Butler County: Michelle Krill Field, 100 Pullman Park Place

  • Bedford County: Bedford High School parking lot, 330 West John Street

  • Mifflin County: Pennsylvania State Fire Academy, 1150 Riverside Drive, Lewistown

  • Tioga County: North Penn Mansfield High School, 73 W. Wellsboro Street, Mansfield

  • Northampton County: William Penn Highway Park & Ride, Emrick Blvd., Easton

This article originally appeared on the Montgomeryville-Lansdale Patch