Kentucky's Department of Public Health can now test for coronavirus in its Frankfort laboratory.

Department for Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack said the lab is "actively open for business to receive specimens" after coming online Monday.

Stack said three Kentuckians have been tested for the coronavirus, also called COVID-19. Two tests were negative and the third is still pending at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Going forward, all tests from Kentucky will be done in Frankfort.

Stack said he's unsure how many tests can be run in a given day, but the Frankfort lab has the materials to test close to 1,000 people. So far, the capacity to test "has been more than adequate for what our needs to test have been."

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The cost of testing for coronavirus is currently free to patients, as it is being administered by public health agencies. However, if and when commercial tests come online, people may be billed through their health insurance, just like with any other lab work, Stack said.

State health officials have monitored more than 100 people who may have been at risk for coming into contact with coronavirus, but only about a dozen are being monitored at this time.

State law gives public health officials broad authority to take action when there's high risk that "any infectious or contagious disease will invade this state."

Stack said people considered at risk were asked to voluntarily comply with the self-monitoring agreement, and most agreed to the state's request. In extreme situations in which a person is both high risk and unwilling to cooperate, Stack said the state can seek a court order from a judge to compel compliance.

That has not happened, he said.

“There were a very small number of persons who didn’t want to comply for whatever reason, but because they were in the lowest possible risk category, it did not rise to the level of seeking a court order," Stack said. "Which is a serious step. We take very seriously people’s civil liberties and we don’t encroach on those without very serious care and consideration for what’s appropriate for public health and what is a true public health need.”

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Stack said as the virus evolves and spreads, the way the state reports its data will also likely change.

“We will probably soon be reporting that data a little bit differently," he said. "Because if the disease becomes more common, the number of people we monitor is not going to be the primary metric; it’s going to the number of people who have tested positive and how common the disease is in the community.”

CDC test kits sent to state and local public health labs initially contained a faulty component, which has delayed local labs from being able to conduct accurate testing as quickly as initially hoped.

Stack said that issue has been corrected, and the tests are now accurate and valid. Local hospitals, clinics and health departments from around Kentucky can now send their specimens to Frankfort.

The number of confirmed cases of the virus has risen to more than 95,000, with nearly 150 in the U.S., as of Wednesday evening. More than 3,200 people have died worldwide due to the illness, including 11 in the U.S.

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Reach Tessa Duvall at tduvall@courier-journal.com and 502-582-4059. Twitter: @TessaDuvall. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.