LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — As Kentucky’s positivity rate spikes, health officials are also reporting an uptick in the number of people getting tested for COVID-19.
Reports of long lines at COVID testing sites, like Kroger Field, are becoming more common as COVID-19 cases surge with the rapid spread of the Delta variant.
Wild Health is one of the companies responsible for provided COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites throughout the state.
Clinical operations director Harper Ford said they’ve experienced a significant increase in people looking to be tested at all their sites.
“The last time I saw numbers like this was in January,” Ford said. “It’s just skyrocketed.”
Ford said for weeks, they averaged about 150 COVID-19 tests daily at Kroger Field.
On Friday, they tested more than 1,000 people.
“It tells us that this Delta variant is something that we need to be taking very seriously. We should be prepared for the numbers to keep increasing until we start wearing masks again,” Ford said.
Ford said while coronavirus cases were down they were able to roll back operations because fewer people were interested in getting tested.
They are now looking at expanding testing sites to meet a rapidly growing demand.
“We are about to add a third lane and who knows? That might not even be enough,” Ford said.
She said their healthcare workers are also feeling the pressure as demand rises.
“I’m back to the 17 hour days. Our contractors are working all the time non-stop. They don’t get a chance to sit down,” she said. “We have 10 to 12 workers right now and we’re looking to double that.”
Ford said they’ll be ready to meet the demand, but they are encouraging everybody who has not yet been vaccinated to do so.
