LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As communities consider reopening, experts say we won't find our "new normal" without wide-spread testing. But as a country, the US is far from wide-spread testing, with the most advanced state having tested less than 4% of its population. Kentucky and Indiana have testing rates even lower than that.
Right now, the national average testing rate is 1.3% of the population. Indiana is testing at a rate below the national average, but not at the bottom of the list, having tested just above 1% of the population.
Kentucky, however, is near the bottom, testing only .88% of its population. Only four states have testing rates worse than Kentucky: Texas, Arizona, Virginia and Kansas. See Map here.
Until now, only a select group of people in Kentucky have had access to testing for COVID-19, including those showing symptoms, in a high risk group, or working on the front lines. But starting next week, the general public will be allowed to get tested, Gov. Andy Beshear announced Wednesday.
"If we're going to truly be healthy at work and come out of this in a positive way we're going to need you to take advantage of that testing capacity,” Beshear said.
He said the state plans to deploy 20,000 tests a week, which would be a massive increase from the approximately 36,000 tests that have been administered since the outbreak began.
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