TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Kansas residents have had more than 1 million COVID-19 tests since the beginning of the pandemic.
The state Department of Health and Environment reported Wednesday that Kansas had reached the milestone. More than 15,000 tests were reported this week alone.
Gov. Laura Kelly in late September announced a “unified” strategy for boosting testing to help the state catch more cases early and more frequently in people without COVID-19 symptoms. The state hired 11 contractors in mid-November, and Kelly said this week that the state had 42 free testing sites.
About one third of the state’s tests, or more than 330,000, occurred after October, according to the state Department of Health and Environment. The first test was in February, and Kansas reported its first coronavirus case on March 7.
The department’s data shows that Kansas averaged about 5,500 tests a day in November and December, compared to an average of about 3,900 a day from Aug. 1 through Oct. 31.
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