COVID-19 testing stays local as National Guard moves on

Posted on May 22, 2020
The drive-thru testing site at the McLean County Fairgrounds will continue to operate. (Facebook/McLean County Emergency Management Agency)

 

By Katherine Murphy

BLOOMINGTON– The Illinois National Guard will be packing up at the McLean County Fairgrounds Friday but the drive-thru testing site is staying put.

The site was expected to shut down earlier this month but negotiations with the Pritzker administration extended the closing date to May 22.

During that time the previously underutilized site hit capacity twice and came close to using up the allotment of tests a number of other times – signaling a need for the site to stay in McLean County.

Moving forward the COVID-19 testing will be handled by Reditus, a private testing lab from Pekin.

In a statement – State Representative Dan Brady says keeping the site local is good news for the community as testing remains a key factor in a successful reopening of central Illinois.

Katherine Murphy can be reached at [email protected]

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