Whatcom calls costs of drive-thru testing ‘unsustainable’ — here’s the total bill
It may have been free to the 1,814 people who showed up to be tested, but the four days of Whatcom County’s pilot COVID-19 low-barrier, drive-thru testing program at Bellingham’s Civic Stadium the past two weekends cost the county an average of about $70 per test.
And that’s not counting the long hours nearly 50 volunteers worked each day to run the testing site put on by the Whatcom County Health Department and Whatcom Unified Command.
The four days of testing cost approximately $126,000, according to a health department news release Thursday, July 23.
“The staff, volunteer and financial commitment for this testing site was extensive; WUC and WCHD are unable to maintain this commitment moving forward,” the release stated.
The release said that low-barrier, drive-thru testing will not be offered this weekend, though the health department and unified command “are currently developing new options to improve service delivery in the future.”
The health department is continuing to work with healthcare providers in the community to reduce delays and make it easier for people to get tested, according to the release. The health department recommends those that need testing contact their healthcare provider or one of the other COVID testing resources within Whatcom County.
The pilot program attracted an average of more than 450 people per day when it was held July 10-11 and 17-18.
“Long lines and strong interest from the community reinforced the importance of providing this type of low-barrier service for local residents in the future,” the release stated. “However, the pilot project revealed that personnel resources required for drive-through testing at this scale and without pre-registration make it unsustainable.”
The health department and unified command will continue to explore alternative community testing approaches that will provide efficient testing with reduced wait times, easier access for county residents outside Bellingham and accommodations for those who do not have access to a vehicle.
Approximately 1% of those who were tested over the four days were positive for coronavirus, the health department reported earlier this week, which is well below the county’s overall average of 2.8% positive results.
Only 7.7% of those tested came from outside Whatcom County, while 86% reported they had health insurance and 33.5% said they had a healthcare provider, according to the earlier health department release. Meanwhile, 11.3% of those tested said they were in close contact with a confirmed coronavirus case and 23.7% reported they had symptoms associated with COVID-19 but had not been in close contact with a confirmed case.
This story was originally published July 23, 2020 at 1:28 PM.
