Hamilton County cases rise, testing still limited

Hamilton County cases rise, testing still limited

Number of confirmed covid-19 cases in hamilton county is on the rise.

The health department was alerted to three more cases -- bringing the total number up to 8.

News 12's angela moryan joins us now live in the studio.

Angela, what's being done to provide more testing for patients?

As of right now, hamilton county has no testing sites open to the public.

One drive thru site is listed on the state's health department website.

That's at erlanger's ut family practice in downtown chattanooga.

Despite being initially listed as testing erlanger patients and staff, erlanger has since changed that site to service only staff.

In a joint statement with the area's three hospitals, the medical society says healthcare workers are receiving testing priority.

That's because they are on the front lines of the virus, and need to ensure they're not spreading it to at risk patients or other medical professionals.

Another problem is the availability of supplies.

The health department says there is a nationwide need for items to administer and conduct the tests.

Health administrator becky barnes says they have a plan to expedite the process.

Becky barnes: "what we're planning to do is get all the logistics, get the place, get the people assigned, and get everything ready to go, and then as soon as we have the supply problems solved, we'll be ready to go."

Barnes says the supply situation has been very sporadic -- that's the reason why some major tennessee counties have testing sites already open, while others don't.

All the information you need to know to stay up to date during the covid-19 pandemic are on our website.

Wdef- dot-com slash coronavirus.

Reporting live in the studio, angela moryan, news