The Ketchikan Fire Department’s headquarters is at 70 Bawden St. (KRBD file photo)
Ketchikan’s fire stations have restocked on at-home COVID-19 tests. The fire department ran out last week.
But supplies are very limited — Ketchikan Fire Chief Scott Brainard says he was only able to secure 864 tests. That’s about a third of what the department got in the first shipment in mid-December.
“They’re in limited supply, so we don’t know when we’ll be able to order more,” Brainard said by phone.
He says they’re out of stock at the state warehouse he orders from. Brainard says he plans to order more when the state gets them back in stock
Brainard says anyone who needs one is welcome to come pick up a test kit — the fire department isn’t limiting who can get one. But fire stations are now handing out just one box per household rather than two because of the limited supply. Each box comes with two tests.
Brainard says additional tests are available on a case-by-case basis for large families and others who might need more.
At-home COVID-19 tests are available now at:
- Ketchikan Fire Department Stations 1 and 2 at 70 Bawden St. and 3352 Tongass Ave.
- North Tongass Fire Department Station 8 at 13110 North Tongass Highway
- South Tongass Fire Department Station 4 at 5690 Roosevelt Drive
They’re also available at Ketchikan Public Health Center at 605 Gateway Court. Brainard says they won’t be available at the Ketchikan Public Library, as they had before, because of the limited supply. The testing program is supported by a state grant.
There are also two new ways to get free COVID-19 tests. Private health insurance is now required to reimburse customers for up to eight COVID-19 tests a month. That’s on a per-person basis, so a family of four could order 32 tests.
And on Tuesday, the federal government launched a website where residents can order four tests to be shipped directly to their homes. It’s limited to four tests per address. That’s at covidtests.gov.
