HARRISBURG — Friday, the Department of Health highlighted that Pennsylvania is above the average national testing rate, as noted in the White House Task Force Weekly Report dated Jan. 3.
According to the report, Pennsylvania was at the yellow level for the number of tests performed per 100,000 people for the previous week. The yellow level is 2,000 to 2,999 tests per 100,000 population.
Director of Testing and Contact Tracing Michael Huff reported that to date, the department collected results from 8,466,597 COVID-19 PCR and antigen tests statewide. Over the past 30 days, the department reported an average of 55,208 PCR tests and 14,421 antigen tests daily, for a total of nearly 69,629 tests each day on average.
“We want Pennsylvanians to know that if they need a test, one is available,” Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said. “This week, we have added five free testing sites and will continue to expand testing opportunities across the state weekly. As COVID-19 remains a threat in our communities, we need to take precautions to keep ourselves safe by monitoring ourselves for COVID-19 symptoms, finding a testing site near to us if we have symptoms and staying home if we are sick.”
In partnership with AMI Expeditionary Healthcare (AMI), Pennsylvania will offer COVID-19 testing over the next 12 weeks as five strike teams provide regional testing for 61 counties. The six counties not receiving testing from AMI have county health departments providing other means of COVID-19 testing.
The county pop-up testing sites are open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. All tests are free and are on a first-come, first-served basis. The department provides an update each week regarding the testing locations for the following week.
The White House Report also noted that Pennsylvania has seen a decrease in new cases and a decrease in test positivity. Pennsylvania had 392 new cases per 100,000 population, compared to a national average of 413 per 100,000. According to the report, Pennsylvania’s percent positivity is at a rate at or above 10.1%, or the 21st highest rate in the country.
To learn more about testing and find a map of COVID-19 testing sites, visit www.health.pa.gov.
