Tennessee’s two-day mass testing effort at Nashville’s public housing began with a low turnout on Thursday. But even though there’s been a push by health leaders for residents to get tested, not many seemed receptive to the idea.
Lines for testing at Metro’s Edgehill Apartments and James A. Cayce affordable housing units were nearly nonexistent yesterday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency told WPLN News that 219 residents were tested at seven properties. This is a relatively small number in comparison to the 4,000 plus families residing in public housing who have access to the test.
The state began offering voluntary tests because they say affordable housing residents had a greater risk of contracting the coronavirus. But at times, there were more medical professionals on hand to give tests than residents interested in receiving them.
“We were expecting more, but we’re happy to see what we have,” says Sergeant Joseph Brummett, the medical noncommissioned officer in charge at the James Cayce testing site. “We’re here for everybody to get tested if they choose to. It’s all voluntary.”
Metro housing officials have already been offering free testing at some of its buildings, which MDHA cited as a reason for the low turnout at its Edgehill Apartments testing site.
MDHA says the state reached out to them two weeks ago to offer mass testing support, and that the decision to partner is an expansion of previous efforts.
The state’s push for public housing tests will continue across seven additional properties through Friday evening.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated the number of families in public housing who have access to the free testing. It is 4,000 families, not 13,000.
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