Oklahoma Receives 10,000 COVID-19 Test Kits From Federal Government

Thursday, March 26th 2020, 7:25 am

By: Aaron Brilbeck

The state of Oklahoma received 10,000 COVID-19 test kits from the federal government.

The test kits were brought to Oklahoma State University in Stillwater where the university has the ability to test those kits. Doctors from across the state will send test swabs for testing to be completed, in-state, as opposed to having to ship the tests out of state.

Gov. Kevin Stitt toured a lab on Thursday at the OSU campus. The lab there will be used to test samples from all over the state.

The administration worked with the FDA to get approval for this type of testing.

It will allow thousands of Oklahomans to be tested with very quick turnaround.

“We’ll be up and testing tomorrow, and it will take us one day. We will be able to turn tests out in one day. Before, hospitals were shipping out to California or Colorado,” Stitt told News 9 in an exclusive interview. “Now, we’re going to be able to open this up and we are going to be able to test Oklahomans the way we need to.”

For anybody who believes they need to be tested, they are advised to still call their doctor first.

The governor says he doesn’t want folks coming to Stillwater to get the tests. He says still go through the regular channels calling your doctor or healthcare provider.