Reditus closing McLean County Fairgrounds COVID-19 testing site at the end of July

Posted on June 29, 2021
The testing facility averages 60 COVID-19 tests a day. (Photo courtesy: WJBC/File)

By Blake Haas

NORMAL – The COVID-19 testing site at the McLean County Fairgrounds is closing at the end of July.

The testing site located at 1106 Interstate Drive in Bloomington is closing at the end of July due to the number of COVID-19 infections decreasing.

In a news release, Reditus Laboratories, who operates the site, said the site averages around 60 tests a day compared with 1,300 tests per day during the fall of 2020.

“The state has decided, with the decreased testing numbers and site utilization, that Bloomington will be closing its site indefinitely,” Dr. Aaron Rossi, CEO of Reditus Laboratories, said in a news release. “At this present time, the site will still be available to the public on the current schedule.”

The testing site has been operating for the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) since May of 2020.

The site is still operating on Monday’s, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Blake Haas can be reached at [email protected].

Blogs

Labor Day – Expanding voting rights for all

By Mike Matejka Because of COVID, there is no Labor Day Parade this year.  It’s always a great event for our everyday workers to march proudly down the street and enjoys the festive crowd. If there had been a parade, this year’s Labor Day theme was to be “150 years of struggle: your right to vote.” …

Is federal mobilization the answer?

By Mike Matejka As President Donald Trump threatens to send federal marshals into Chicago, over the objections of Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, recall another Illinois Governor who protested the incursion of armed federal personnel into the city.   Those federal troops, rather than calming, escalated the situation, leading to deaths and violence. Illinois poet Vachel Lindsay…

In these troubled times, to my fellow white Americans

By Mike Matejka Our nation is at a unique watershed in human relations. African-Americans have been killed too many times in the past before George Floyd, but the response to this man’s death is international and all-encompassing. I was a grade-schooler during the Civil Rights 1960s. I watched Birmingham demonstrators hosed and the Selma – Montgomery…

Workers’ Memorial Day – Remember those whose job took their life

Looking around our community, when we say employer, most will respond to State Farm, Country, or Illinois State University.   We too often forget those who are building our roads, serving our food, or our public employees. COVID-19 has made us more aware of the risk.  Going to work every day for some people means…