DES MOINES, Iowa – The State of Iowa has announced the closure of two Test Iowa sites this week. The Sioux County site closed on Tuesday when testing concluded. The second site in Wapello County will close at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24, 2020.
The Reynolds Administration said the state is pursuing clinic sites in both counties, and testing remains available through local health care providers.
The Sioux County site opened on May 27 in Sioux Center, and the Wapello County site in Ottumwa opened May 13.
The Governor’s office said Test Iowa’s mobile testing model makes it possible to quickly operationalize temporary test sites in communities where access to testing is limited, or virus activity is increasing. Testing is rapidly scaled up to identify positive cases, conduct contact tracing, and determine the virus’s scope. Over time as test volume decreases, sites can be moved to other communities where there is a need.
Eight large-scale, drive-thru test sites located in Black Hawk, Buena Vista, Dallas, Linn, Marshall, Polk, Pottawattamie, and Scott Counties will remain open. Ten Test Iowa clinic sites are also available in Black Hawk, Carroll, Cass, Crawford, Des Moines, Dickinson, Dubuque, Mitchell, Page, and Union Counties.
Large-scale sites are managed and operated by the State of Iowa. Clinic sites are partnerships between the state and local health care providers. Clinics operate and staff the test sites. The state provides testing supplies and processes the samples through the State Hygienic Lab.
The Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) reports that 265,070 Iowans have been tested for COVID-19 for a per capita rate of one in 12 Iowans. There are 26,369 positive cases thus far, and the overall positivity rate has dropped to 9.9 percent, with Monday’s positivity rate at 4.5 percent. IDPH announced that 689 Iowans have died, and daily deaths have been on a downward trend throughout June. So far, 16,689 Iowans have recovered for a 63 percent recovery rate among those testing positive.
Hospitalizations continue to trend downward in June. There are only 140 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the entire state, with 43 patients in ICU and 25 on ventilators.
Individuals who wish to get tested at any site must first complete the online assessment at testiowa.com.
Test Iowa is a statewide initiative to expand COVID-19 testing. Locations and hours of operation for all test sites can be found at testiowa.com or coronavirus.iowa.gov.