Citing declining demand, a self-service clinic in central Arkansas that once saw many other people per day has recently become the latest covid-19 test to close.
Before it closed, the self-service at Baptist Health Medical Center-Little Rock saw fewer than 10 people a day, hospital spokeswoman Cara Wade said.
She said that in January 2022, they broke a record with 1,726 more people sampled in one day.
“The drop in numbers is maximum, likely due to the availability of at-home testing, as well as relief in cases in the state,” Wade said.
Wade said the hospital will temporarily reopen the testing site if the domain sees a backlog of cases.
The University of Arkansas Medical Sciences shut down its drive-thru access control on the UAMS campus in March 2022 for similar reasons.
“As the number of covid infections continues to decline in Arkansas, we no longer want those covid-specific spaces and can fulfill the order for vaccines and testing in other ways,” Steppe Mette, M. D. , CEO of UAMS Medical Center and senior said UAMS Vice Chancellor for Health in a press release closing the site.
“The closure of the vaccination clinic and the self-service service will allow us to relocate to spaces where they are needed to the fullest. “
As of Wednesday, UAMS did not present public testing services. It still provides testing in its circle of family members and number one care clinics, as well as at the hospital and emergency room, hospital spokeswoman Leslie Taylor said.
While hospitals have canceled services, the state Ministry of Health still provides testing at all of its local fitness units. The federal government also provides covid. gov with a list of pharmacies and other providers that provide testing.
The Ministry of Health has tracked more than 8 million COVID-19 tests since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
There have been 1,006,622 COVID-19s reported in Arkansas, with 286 new and 2,659 active reported Wednesday.
The state has reported 13,015 deaths from covid-19 since March 2020.