Tompkins County Whole Health announced this week that it has ceased free distribution of COVID-19 test kits. The program ended April 4.
The public health department also announced changes to its data dashboard at https://tinyurl.com/mrx6csm9.
The county has distributed 275,000 test kits it received from the state Department of Emergency Management since January 2022 via community and municipal centers.
The county is also changing its COVID data dashboard starting Monday. It will now show the trend in positive COVID-19 tests, as reported by the state Health Department, tracking the virus in a manner similar to influenza cases.
The dashboard will no longer provide hospitalization rates, although the state Department of Health will..
“Data keeps us informed. Knowing local COVID-19 case counts, along with other indicators, has helped our community to make informed decisions about their individual health risks throughout the course of the pandemic,” Commissioner Frank Kruppa said in a release. “Our commitment remains to continue providing relevant information to the community. This shift in the design from a stand-alone dashboard to a bar graph allows us to see trends and peaks of disease prevalence during respiratory illness season.”
