LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The now-widespread omicron variant of COVID-19 hit Kentucky just in time for the holidays.
"Every time we are experiencing a new variant, or peak, you're going to see testing correlate with that increase," said UK Police Chief Joe Monroe.
With that testing increase, the lines have grown once again at the College Way testing site in the shadow of Kroger Field.
"We had to cap the amount of appointments daily for the simple fact to keep it manageable," said Monroe.
More than 4,000 tests a day have been administered, for the past few days.
"Yeah, we're just trying to make sure we're going to be safe to be around the others at the funeral. He's got a little bit of a runny nose. I think the rest of the Lexington public does as well," said Mike Smith.
The colder weather is posing challenges for test administrators who are working outside. But Wild Health says they have still increased staffing to meet the demand.
"It's (the line) going pretty fast. Maybe 20 minutes something like that. We're getting near the end," said Smith.
With the current testing load, Wild Health estimates results will take at least 48 hours for a PCR test. We were told the most recent reported positivity rate at this site was more than 15%.
If you'd like to book a testing appointment, follow this link.
