A south Omaha COVID-19 testing center is closed until further notice because of a shortage of lab machine supplies necessary to conduct tests.
The drive-through clinic, located near 50th and G streets in Omaha, previously had the capacity to conduct up to 300 tests a day.
The Douglas County Health Department has a contract with the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine to operate the clinic.
Phil Rooney, resource specialist at the Douglas County Health Department, said many of the necessary supplies are under limited production and are being sent to more heavily affected parts of the country.
"Manufacturers are allocating the supply to the areas around the country where the need has been great at this time," Rooney said.
He said health department and UNMC officials are working to solve the problem as quickly as possible, but the shortage is affecting their efforts to expand testing efforts in other parts of the city as well.
"It is concerning," Rooney said. "We want to do more testing, we’d like to do more testing in South Omaha, we’d like to expand in North Omaha."
Rooney said individuals who have appointments at the clinic can contact their healthcare provider to set another appointment or sign up for testing on Test Nebraska’s website.