Kentucky's COVID-19 testing capacity surges past White House standard for reopening

Joe Sonka
Louisville Courier Journal

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky's COVID-19 testing capacity has surged in recent weeks, now exceeding the daily average recommended by the White House on April 17 in order to safely begin reopening the economy.

In the seven days ending Tuesday, the daily average of Kentuckians tested per 100,000 residents reached 138, easily passing the per capita rate of 100 recommended by White House experts.

The current testing capacity is a dramatic improvement from mid-April, when Kentucky's average daily testing rate was below 20.

By early May, just prior to the first phase of business reopenings announced by Gov. Andy Beshear, Kentucky's daily average rate of people tested was just shy of 80 per 100,000 residents, still below the White House standard.

The daily average of 138 people tested per 100,000 Kentuckians over the past week has nearly reached the rate of 152 recommended in an April study by Harvard's Global Health Initiative.

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Announcing an increase of over 8,000 tests on Tuesday, Beshear stressed that this greater testing capacity would go hand-in-hand with up to 700 new contact tracers soon to be hired by the state, tracking down known contacts of people who test positive for the coronavirus.

"That's a good thing and it's going to help us to be safer going forward," Beshear said. "And it's something that I am so thankful for, having now lived through not having enough tests — not having tests at all originally to a brand new virus — to where we are today."

Beshear and other governors across the country initially struggled to gain access to testing supplies, protective equipment and laboratories at the onset of the pandemic, though many states like Kentucky have boosted capacity enough that they're urging asymptomatic people to seek out a test.

While Kentucky ranks average among neighboring states when it comes to total per capita testing over the course of the pandemic — below Tennessee, Illinois and West Virgina, and above Indiana, Ohio, Missouri and Virginia — its average daily testing rate over the past week is only surpassed by Illinois.

For example, Indiana's daily testing average over the past week is 82 per 100,000 residents and Ohio's is even lower at 73 — both still well below the White House's recommended level of 100.

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While Tennessee's per capita testing over the course of the pandemic is nearly 50% higher than that of Kentucky, its daily average of 130 per 100,000 residents over the past week was just below the Bluegrass State.

Reach reporter Joe Sonka at jsonka@courierjournal.com or 502-582-4472 and follow him on Twitter at @joesonka. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courierjournal.com/subscribe