Three COVID testing sites closed in Kansas City, two closed in Johnson County on Friday
COVID-19 tests just got a bit tougher to obtain around Kansas City with five area sites closed on Friday, Jan. 7.
Curative’s three COVID-19 testing locations in Kansas City are closed Friday after testing kits had a shipping delay, and two COVID-19 testing sites are closed in Johnson County on Friday because of the cold weather.
Kansas City sites
“Unfortunately due to unforeseen circumstances there was a delay during shipping and our test kits did not make it to Kansas City today as we were expecting. As such, we had to close Metro Community College, KCATA East Village and 75th and Prospect testing sites on January 7th. Our support team contacted patients with January 7th appointments by email and text between 5pm-5:30pm CT time on January 6th to let them know that the sites were closed and appointments would be honored and rescheduled for January 8th. We apologize for the inconvenience that this places on the community and look forward to supporting the testing needs of the Kansas City community.”
There are four testing locations in Kansas City run by Curative, which offers free PCR tests by appointment for COVID-19.
A few people, including a reporter from The Star, arrived to the Metropolitan Community College Penn Valley location Friday morning for a test after making an appointment online, only to find the testing location closed. Curative said it sent an email Thursday night informing patients that the site would be closed “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
The shipping delay and the closing of the testing sites adds to the problem of finding COVID-19 tests in the Kansas City area. Tests are already in high demand in the area as cases have surged, leading to a rise in hospitalizations.
On Thursday the testing site at Heavy Construction Laborers closed because of the weather.
Johnson County sites
The testing sites at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park and at Church of the Resurrection in Leawood are closed Friday because of the cold weather.
You can find other testing options through Kansas’ interactive map.
What else to know about testing around Kansas City
The Star’s Service Journalism team created guides about when to take a test and what kind of test is best, where to get tested around Kansas City, where to find an at home test and how to order an at home test for free from the state of Missouri.
Due to the rise in COVID-19 cases across the metro from the omicron variant, mask mandates in schools are coming back.
As of Tuesday, the seven-day average of cases showed 2,100 new infections each day across the immediate metropolitan area, which includes Jackson, Clay, Platte, Wyandotte and Johnson counties.
On Thursday, Jan. 6, Kansas City Council approved a mask mandate for Kansas City Schools, Johnson County decided to continue requiring masks for students up to 6th grade and Lee’s Summit School District reinstated its mask mandate. On Jan. 4, the North Kansas City School District reinstated its mask mandate too.
Local municipalities have not moved to create new mask mandates outside of schools amid the latest wave.
Also on Thursday, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly issued a state of emergency as COVID-19 patients threaten to overwhelm hospitals struggling with staffing shortages.
Do you have more questions about COVID-19 testing? Ask us at kcq@kcstar.com or with the form below.
This story was originally published January 7, 2022 at 11:35 AM.
