Two COVID-19 mass testing sites in Johnson County to close next week

Two mass COVID-19 testing sites run by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment in Johnson County are scheduled to close by the end of next week, the local health department announced Wednesday.

The Johnson County Department of Health and Environment says tests will continue to be available at the sites — Johnson County Community College and Johnson County Church of the Resurrection — until the close of business on March 31.

In a news release Wednesday, the local health department said it will continue to have other testing and vaccination locations, including a drive-thru test clinic in Olathe on Wednesdays. Johnson County residents may schedule a COVID-19 test through the health department’s website.

Roughly 63% of Johnson County residents have been fully vaccinated. In Kansas, just over 54% have been vaccinated.

Cases of COVID-19 in Kansas City, along with the rest of the country, have declined in recent weeks since the last large surge that began around December. Over the past week, roughly 400 new cases and 5 COVID-related deaths were reported, according to data maintained by The Star.

Last week, the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/Kansas City, Kansas announced that it would be shutting down its testing site in the old Kmart at 7836 State Ave. The site was one of the first places in the state to offer COVID-19 vaccinations.