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A new report from the state Department of Health and Human Services shows the Test Nebraska initiative continues to fall short of COVID-19 testing goals. The contract with private, out-of-state companies aimed to significantly increase testing capacity.
Test Nebraska set a goal of doing 3,000 COVID-19 tests per day, which would meet the number of tests health experts say Nebraska should be doing.
In the month of June, Test Nebraska conducted an average of about 1,200 tests a day – less than half the original goal.
Tests outside the state program averaged about 1,300 a day. Even added together, testing remains below the goal set by health experts.
In the first six days of July, Test Nebraska did 671 tests, an average of 112 per day. Other groups conducted 11,829 tests in those six days, or an average 1,972 daily tests.
State officials continue to encourage Nebraskans to take the online assessment at testnebraska.com and schedule a test. Anyone can now be tested through the program, even those without symptoms. According to the report, about 648,000 assessments have been completed so far.
The program has conducted about 62,000 COVID-19 tests since the program began on May 4.