Gov. Bill Lee announced that free COVID-19 testing will be available to anyone, regardless of the presence of usual symptoms.
Lee said Wednesday that recent improvements in testing have allowed the state to expand capacity. To date, state and private labs have tested more than 80,000 people for the virus.
“Increased testing capacity will empower our citizens to make decisions around their health as they consider how it is that they’ll get back into the workforce as we take steps to open up the economy,” Lee told reporters in a videoconference.
There will be 33 state-run testing events across the state. They’ll be open for the next three weekends.
Any Tennessean who feels ill will be able to get tested for free — whether or not they are showing any of the typical symptoms for COVID-19.
“Our clinical understanding of COVID-19 is changing rapidly, and we need every Tennessean who isn’t feeling well, even outside of the traditional COVID-19 symptoms of cough, fever or difficulty breathing, to come out and get tested,” Tennessee Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Lisa Piercey said in a press release.
The Tennessee National Guard will operate 22 drive-thru testing sites this weekend, April 18-19, and the weekends of April 25-26 and May 2-3. Patients should receive their test results from these events within 72 hours. Anyone with health concerns is eligible.
Testing center locations and schedules are available here.
Not every county is getting a site during the first round starting this Saturday — in fact, Davidson, Shelby and Hamilton Counties are not on the list.
The Department of Health said it is likely to run free testing sites in state’s Metro areas later this month, or in May.
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