Lincoln County Public Health set up a drive-thru testing facility in Libby to keep health care workers and high-risk populations safe.
Lincoln County Public Health Manager Jennifer McCully told MTN that the decision to start the testing site was also made to limit the use of already tapped personal protection equipment.
McCully adds the site is drive up by appointment and referral only.
Individuals are triaged and prioritized by risk level by phone before arrival.
When the person arrives they stay in their car and are provided a mask.
She says, currently, the county performs eighteen tests a day with the amount of kits they have available.
She adds testing also gives the county an idea of how many people are experiencing symptoms and how to better protect their high-risk population.
"We have a large population by age, that are of course high risk, but we have a higher population with asbestos related disease," explained McCully. "So, it creates a population with that high risk."
McCully explained to MTN that they will continue testing as many people as they can until they run out of tests.
The county's tests are being sent to a lab out of state to prevent a back up in the Helena state lab.
