Gov. Bill Lee said more than 23,000 Tennesseans have received a free COVID-19 test at one of 67 drive-through testing sites over the past three weekends.
“Testing remains one of the most important tools for gaining more information in our fight against COVID-19, and the 23,000 tests we’ve completed over the last three weekends have provided incredibly valuable data,” Lee said in a statement. “We’re grateful to the thousands who came out to receive a test this weekend and we continue to remind Tennesseans: when in doubt, get a test.”
Last weekend alone, 5,153 Tennesseans received a free COVID-19 test. Lee said the free testing is part of the Unified Command Group’s efforts to widen access to testing regardless of symptoms.
“Our weekend sites have been equipped to meet the demand for free testing across the state,” said Dr. Lisa Piercey, Tennessee Department of Health commissioner. “With ample capacity at our county health departments during the week, we continue to encourage Tennesseans to take advantage of free testing at these locations.”
The Tennessee Department of Health has a map of testing sites published on its website. As of Thursday, Tennessee had completed 236,328 COVID-19 tests. That’s more than double the number of tests performed in states like Minnesota, which claims it has the ability to test up to 20,000 individuals in a day, but has yet to surpass 6,000 daily tests.
Between Wednesday and Thursday, Tennessee tested an additional 9,227 residents, according to the Department of Health.
Tennessee has also performed more than twice as many tests as Kentucky, which had tested 81,391 residents as of Thursday.
Most of Tennessee’s COVID-19 tests have been performed by non-state health labs, which account for 225,427 of the state’s 236,328 total tests.
Tennessee now has 14,096 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 237 deaths, and 6,783 recovered patients.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “North Carolina National Guard Members” by the National Guard. CC BY 2.0.
