Sedgwick County to move COVID-19 testing to larger space, citing increased demand
Sedgwick County will move its COVID-19 testing site from a park in west Wichita to a larger location on the south side as the need for testing increases and the delta variant of the coronavirus spreads in the community.
“Since the week of June 28, COVID-19 testing at the (Sedgwick County Health Department) testing site has increased by 600%,” Pete Meitzner, chairman of the County Commission, said in a statement. “With things continuing to change daily, this new space will allow us to meet the needs of our community as we move to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
The new county testing location will be at 4115 E. Harry, near Harry and Oliver. The clinic is in the former Wichita Mall between Big Lots and COMCARE Adult Services. It will relocate on Oct. 4.
County commissioners approved the move at their Wednesday meeting. The current site at the Sunflower shelter in Sedgwick County Park will remain open through Sept. 30.
Sedgwick County will not offer COVID-19 testing on Oct. 1 because of the move.
The new clinic on Harry contains just under 12,000 square feet of space that will help the county meet the increased demand for testing.
Hours will remain the same. The county’s testing site is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. It is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday.
In July, the county was focusing its COVID-19 strategy on recovery efforts, with vaccines widely available. Now the county is shifting toward a COVID-19 response strategy once again, as the delta variant of the coronavirus has overwhelmed local hospitals with COVID-19 patients who are not vaccinated.
This story was originally published September 22, 2021 at 1:51 PM.
