PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Governor Kate Brown on Tuesday said testing for the coronavirus will increase within the next few weeks. The additional tests will be made available by the federal government and a private provider.
“We are expecting testing capacity to ramp up substantially in the next three weeks,” said Brown during a conference call with reporters Tuesday.
The lack of wide-scale testing has been a major frustration for health officials and physicians. Oregon health officials received a limited supply of tests from the federal government. They are rationing those state kits for the sickest patients.
Currently, testing is limited to approximately 80 tests per day at the Oregon State Public Health Lab.
Governor Brown said the White House has promised to deliver 1 million tests nationwide starting next week. The feds will provide 2 million tests nationwide the following week and 5 million tests in three weeks. It is not clear how many tests Oregon will be allocated.
On Tuesday, Oregon Health Authority reported 920 people had been tested for COVID-19, compared to 12,400 in Washington.
At least 12 states are offering drive-thru testing, where patients don’t need to leave their vehicle to be tested.
Governor Brown said health officials are considering offering drive-thu testing when capacity expands.
“I’m not very interested in people sitting in a three-hour line, so we want to make sure we do this right,” said Brown.