By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Reno County Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar is still concerned that COVID-19 testing supplies are limited in the state, at least based on what is made available to his department when they ask for it.
"One of the things that we've had trouble getting all along, not only PPE, are the nasopharyngeal swabs that actually they use for the COVID test when they swab your nasal cavity," Weishaar said. "That's something that gets requested from us every single week and generally speaking, whatever we request from the state, they send about a quarter of it. That goes directly to the agencies who are doing the tests."
There was a supply chain shortage earlier this year that KDHE put out a proposal to have help with back in April.
"When we were having so much trouble getting them, there were some dental offices that produced those for the state and were able to print those, essentially on a 3D printer, to be used," Weishaar said.
Weishaar expressed a concern about the potential for limits on testing supplies at Tuesday's Reno County Commission meeting where the commissioners approved spending money on a month's worth of testing supplies in an attempt to test asymptomatic community members to see if there is any asymptomatic COVID-19 spread going on in the community. Commissioner Ron Sellers noted the concern and asked for an update next week.