Gov. Kate Brown’s administration and state health officials could not answer questions for a second day in a row about when 20,000 coronavirus tests from a private laboratory will be available for Oregonians, but the state did announce who will be first on the list whenever they do arrive.

Brown said Wednesday that Oregon had an agreement with Quest Diagnostics for the influx of tests, including a first batch of 5,000.

But Nik Blosser, Brown’s chief of staff, said Thursday that while the state has outlined how to use those tests, officials still don’t know when Quest will provide them.

“I do not have that answer right now,” Blosser said in a conference call with reporters Thursday morning. Neither Brown’s office nor the Oregon Health Authority were able to answer questions as of Thursday evening.

Meanwhile, a Quest spokeswoman did not answer questions for a second day in a row about Oregon’s announced deal.

The availability of 20,000 tests had been welcomed news in Oregon, as state officials have openly acknowledged they are rationing tests obtained from the federal government for only those most in need. Since testing began Feb. 28, about 1,400 Oregonians have been checked for coronavirus by state or private labs, with 88 infections identified.

The testing shortage is national in scope, and Oregon has been slowly ramping up capacity beyond the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory, prompting a rise in testing this week. Providence Health & Services announced Wednesday its lab could begin processing tests for 500 to 600 patients a day, marking a major milestone for Oregonians.

State officials have already outlined a plan for what to do with a large portion of the first 5,000 tests from Quest, if and when they arrive.

Blosser -- who on Wednesday said the tests would be available “any day now” -- said Thursday they’ll be prioritized in four ways.

The first is for workers with symptoms in health care, emergency medical services, public safety and other critical infrastructure.

“We want to get them all tested,” he said.

Second is anyone with symptoms in hospitals, long-term care facilities, corrections or any other high-risk congregate settings, he said.

Third are high-risk contacts to a known COVID-19 case, or other high-risk people, as identified by tribal or local public health authorities, he said.

“We probably will send dozens of kits to each county public health” department, he said, “so they will have them on the ready and can test very quickly.”

Fourth, the state will provide tests to an existing network of about 25 people who specialize in flu surveillance.

“They can implement more broad tests as quickly as possible, and we can start to get a better sense of community spread through that,” he said.

Blosser said those four priorities should take up “a couple thousand” of the first 5,000 tests from Quest, and officials are working on criteria for the remainder.

As for when Oregon’s remaining 15,000 test allotment might be available from Quest?

Blosser said he’d provide clarity “as soon as I have more information.”

As of Monday, Quest had a nationwide capacity to analyze about 5,000 tests a day, according to the American Enterprise Institute, which tracks testing.

Across the country, all labs had the ability to analyze about 37,000 patients’ tests a day, a number that’s expected to jump to 100,000 by March 27.

Brad Schmidt; bschmidt@oregonian.com; 503-294-7628; @_brad_schmidt