Pierce County officials can decide how to use 1,000 COVID-19 test kits sitting in storage, feds say
The Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department can decide what to do with 1,000 COVID-19 test kits that have been sitting in storage for the past week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) said Wednesday.
The test kits were left over from a five-day drive-thru testing site at the Tacoma Dome in March.
“We provided supplies to support the Community Based Testing Sites (CBTS), and anything that remains that they haven’t used yet, they are free to use with as they see fit,” said Savannah Brehmer, digital information officer for FEMA Region 10, which includes Washington state.
The announcement comes a day after local government officials said it was “irresponsible” that the test kits were sitting unused while medical workers, first responders and other at-risk populations could likely use them.
The health department said it had been waiting to hear back from the federal government, which has the final decision on how to use the kits.
The department confirmed Wednesday it received official word from FEMA that it will be able to distribute the remaining tests locally.
“We have had a community-based testing plan in development, and now (that) we have this good news from FEMA, we will dust off that plan to work with our local partners to plan smaller scale community-based testing,” Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department spokesperson Steve Metcalf said in an email to The News Tribune.
“Securing local access to the test kits is a terrific result,” Tacoma City Council member Conor McCarthy said in a statement Wednesday. “Tests should be immediately deployed as originally intended. We have to continue to fight as hard as we possible can to secure and deploy resources in our community on every front. All hands on deck.”
A plan for the test kits is in the works, said Metcalf.
“We’ll work with existing partners and leverage health care infrastructure to provide more testing to people who need it,” Metcalf said. “We will not do another large testing event like we did two weeks ago at the Tacoma Dome. We will share more information as soon as we’ve firmed up our plans for more community-based testing.”
Council member Robert Thoms thanked the state’s congressional delegation for supporting the request for help to get a definitive answer on the tests.
“I’m eager to work with my colleagues at the city and county to decide what is the best and most efficient way to get these tests utilized for our first responders and health care providers so we know what the level of impact has been in our community,” Thoms said.
He urged to move as quickly as possible to use the kits.
“I’m looking for a decision within hours, not days,” he said.
