Sedgwick County is taking steps to close its drive-through testing site in east Wichita, and testing will be moving to a different location in the next few weeks.
The lease is expiring at the end of this month on a building near Central and Edgemoor. Deputy county manager Tim Kaufman says the testing will move to the Sedgwick County Extension Center at 21st and Ridge Road, and that site should be operational by December 21st.
Kaufman said the new location in the 4-H Hall will offer a mix of appointments and walk-up testing, but there are no plans at this point for a drive-through operation. He said the county will continue to have its mobile testing operation at different locations.
There will be a designated entrance and exit for people who are going in for testing, to keep them separate from people who are going into the building for extension activities, and Kaufman said signs will be in place to direct people to the proper location.
Kaufman said the plan is to transition to saliva testing with the use of the new Molecular Diagnostics Lab at Wichita State University. He said the health department will look at demand for nasal swab testing and determine how that will be provided.
