Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
It was just a little more than month ago when Bucks County began receiving and then handing out COVID-19 tests.
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In the first few weeks, the county had distributed the bulk of their tests and are working to hand out the rest to those who need them.
Staff from the Bucks County Emergency Management Agency and Bucks County Health Department recently handed out tests to residents – two packs of four per a vehicle – at drive-up events in the lower, central, and upper ends of the county. The Lower Bucks County distribution was held in the parking lot of Sesame Place in Middletown Township.
Of the more than 300,000 tests ordered, Bucks County Emergency Management Agency Director Audrey Kenny said 262,000 kits were distributed as of last Wednesday.
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Across the eight public distribution events, 153,000 kits were distributed, and the other kits were distributed through various county agencies and nonprofits groups.
Kenny said the health department has been giving out kits to people who call and need them.
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In addition, there have been efforts to distribute kits among vulnerable populations, like the homeless or the elderly.
Kits have also been provided to businesses who need them through the county’s chambers of commerce, to places of worship, and veteran groups.
The remaining tests will be provided to residents who need them, according to Kenny.
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In early January, the Bucks County Commissioners voted to pay $2.77 million to Safeware Inc., of Lanham, Maryland, to order 300,000 test kits. Additionally, the commissioners approved spending $251,904 to purchase COVID-19 test kits from Safeware Inc. for students, school workers, and unvaccinated county employees.
Unrelated to the county’s efforts, the U.S. Postal Service is offering free at-home COVID-19 test kits through a federal initiative.
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