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As free testing is scaled back in Northwest Georgia, some worry it sends wrong message

Jazmyn Finney is administered a coronavirus 15-minute rapid test at the student health center on campus at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, N.C., Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. As vaccinations slowly ramp up, some experts say turning to millions more rapid tests that are cheaper but technically less accurate may improve the chances of identifying sick people during the critical early days of infection, when they are most contagious. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)
Jazmyn Finney is administered a coronavirus 15-minute rapid test at the student health center on campus at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, N.C., Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. As vaccinations slowly ramp up, some experts say turning to millions more rapid tests that are cheaper but technically less accurate may improve the chances of identifying sick people during the critical early days of infection, when they are most contagious. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Jazmyn Finney is administered a coronavirus 15-minute rapid test at the student health center on campus at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, N.C., Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. As vaccinations slowly ramp up, some experts say turning to millions more rapid tests that are cheaper but technically less accurate may improve the chances of identifying sick people during the critical early days of infection, when they are most contagious. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

By Patrick Filbin 4 min read

The decision by the Northwest Georgia Health District to no longer offer free COVID-19 testing had been in the works for nearly three months, as demand had dropped off in the area.

However, some public health experts worry that no longer providing the testing could give the public a false sense of security, believing that because the vaccine has arrived it’s no longer necessary.

The number of coronavirus tests administered in Northwest Georgia has seen a decline in recent weeks.

In Walker County, for example, 271 tests were given on Jan. 10. Since then, the most given in a single day was 218 on Jan. 16, and the daily average for tests taken has dropped off. In Catoosa County, 311 tests were recorded on Jan. 15 and the highest total since then was 90 on Feb. 18.

Residents of Northwest Georgia are getting tested for COVID-19 at rates that are similar to the numbers in August 2020 in most counties.