Introducing COVID-19 Mobile Testing Units to Increase Testing Capacity and Decrease Wait Times in Hard-Hit Areas

Today, we are announcing the launch of two COVID-19 mobile testing units to rapidly deploy resources to Utah communities that are being disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 virus. These TestUtah sprinter vans will bring free testing to predominantly high-risk and underserved communities, employer ready-response, and provide additional support to any testing site that is experiencing high volumes of testing.

TestUtah was designed to support the testing needs for Utah through innovative, high-capacity, rapid testing. Part of the value of the solution is to provide a real-time view into how the pandemic is affecting the community so public health officials can quickly identify trends to determine where testing sites are needed most. Having vans with the flexibility to travel and the ability to deploy quickly will allow resources to be directed towards the sites most in need of additional testing capacity. Each mobile testing unit will have the ability to test up to an additional 200 people per day and can be up and running at a testing site in just 24 hours.

This new mobile testing unit is the latest example of our streamlined approach to COVID testing and will allow TestUtah to deploy additional testing capacity to the areas of the State that need it the most.

As the demand for tests continues to increase, this unit will allow us to quickly open up more appointments and ensure wait times at testing locations remain short.

These vans expand testing access beyond the already operational eight testing sites in communities across Utah, where Utahns can complete the testing process with an average 15 minute wait time and receive results within 37 hours. Nomi Health and TestUtah have completed over 187,000 assessments and collected nearly 62,000 tests across testing locations. Our testing time has been nothing short of spectacular, given current national turnaround times average more than seven days and can be as much as 14 days or longer.

The vans will provide the same high-quality care of testing as TestUtah’s eight sites. Each van is equipped with FDA-authorized tests and registered clinicians who administer the tests onsite. TestUtah provides free COVID-19 testing to ensure Utahans — insured and uninsured — can get the tests they need.