Shortage of testing capabilities in Niagara County

Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane. March 18, 2020 (WBEN Photo/Mike Baggerman)
Photo credit Eastern Niagara Hospital in Newfane. March 18, 2020 (WBEN Photo/Mike Baggerman)

Niagara County Public Health Director Dan Stapleton told WBEN that because of the shortage, Niagara County only has six testing sites available. They previously had 13.

“It’s definitely a concern,” Stapleton said. “It took us a long time to get the test kits in the beginning during the first month or two of the crisis. We’ve been having a good supply until a couple weeks ago. The testing kits are critical. You can’t do the sampling if you don’t have those as well as you can’t run the tests if you don’t have the reagents.”

Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center and Eastern Niagara Hospital previously had testing sites in the community but have suspended them because of an inability by Kaleida Health to provide the testing kits.

Several providers are having issues sending out testing supplies to local communities due to competition with hot spot areas.

Niagara County is reporting only 34 active cases. There are 1,425 people who are confirmed to have contracted coronavirus in Niagara County and 98 people have died. Stapleton said the county is trending in the right direction but they must remain vigilant so they don’t regress.