OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts said Wednesday he’s “very pleased” with a coronavirus testing program established by out-of-state contractors, despite uncertainty that it will meet a goal of 3,000 tests per day by the month’s end.
Nebraska announced the $27 million, no-bid contract with Utah-based Nomi Health and other firms on April 21. They hoped to hit the testing target within five weeks.
TestNebraska conducted just 1,197 tests on Tuesday, said Dr. Gary Anthone, the state’s chief medical officer. That’s an increase since the beginning of May, when the program was averaging about 337 tests per day.
With just 12 days left until month’s end, Ricketts has said he still believes the program will reach its goal “at some point,” but backed away from earlier stated goals.
“We’re pushing the team hard to get that done by the end of the month, but a lot of that will depend on people signing up,” he said at a news conference.
Ricketts said the problem stems in part from residents who qualify for a test after filling out an online questionnaire, but don’t show up as scheduled. As many as 15% of the people who are deemed eligible are no-shows, he said.
The state also hasn’t launched all six of its mobile testing sites. State employees and members of the Nebraska National Guard are administering the tests at four mobile stations, with plans to open two more.
The program has faced criticism from some state lawmakers, who questioned why Nebraska wasn’t spending the money on local testing resources. Ricketts has defended the contract, arguing that the state is already using the University of Nebraska Medical Center and the state public health lab for testing and both have reached their capacity.
“I’ve been very pleased with the results so far with TestNebraska,” Ricketts said Wednesday, adding that it was “absolutely” worth the money.
On Wednesday, a state lawmaker who has criticized the contract sent a follow-up letter to Ricketts, saying some hard-hit areas still aren’t getting the tests they need.
“I recognize that TestNebraska was an opportunity to ramp up mass testing quickly, but it seems there is a disconnect between that testing program and the emergent needs in communities across the state,” said Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh, of Omaha.
Meanwhile, officials reported that seven more people have died from the coronavirus, including five residents at a long-term care facility in Omaha.
The residents lived at the Life Care Center of Elkhorn, a facility that has been struggling with a COVID-19 outbreak among employees and the seniors they serve.
Long-term care facilities such as nursing homes are among the hardest-hit venues in Nebraska. Ricketts said Tuesday that the facilities have been linked to at least 62 of the state’s 132 coronavirus deaths. He said 89 facilities have reported infections among residents, employees or both.
The Life Care Center of Elkhorn said in a statement that residents who test positive are immediately separated into their own area of the building.
“We are doing everything we can to provide the best care for residents and to safeguard staff,” the statement said.
The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services reported 10,846 confirmed cases statewide as of Tuesday night. More than 72,300 people have been tested.
The number of new patients has been trending downward since a peak of 677 new cases on May 7, but public health officials say it’s precautions such as social distancing remain vital.
Nebraska’s hospital capacity for treating patients with the virus is fairly stable. The state’s hospitals report that 44% of their beds, 38% of their intensive care unit beds and 78% of their ventilators are available for use if needed.
For some infected people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause severe illness or death. But for most people, it causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks.
___
Check out more of the AP’s coronavirus coverage at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak
___
Follow Grant Schulte on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GrantSchulte
Please read our comment policy before commenting.