NASHVILLE - More than 11,000 Tennesseans rushed to the state's free COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites over the weekend, including about 1,000 residents from Southeast Tennessee and parts of the Cumberland Plateau, Gov. Bill Lee announced Monday.
Pent-up demand for tests as well as the ability to get tested even without traditional symptoms resulted in 11,230 Tennesseans hitting a total of 33 sites across the state on Saturday and Sunday.
No immediate information on positive or negative results were available early Monday.
The massive testing effort was carried out under Lee's Unified Command, a joint partnership among the Tennessee Department of Health, the Tennessee Department of Military and the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency.
"Tennesseans across the state heeded the call of 'when in doubt, get a test,' and we believe these efforts will be an important part of our overall strategy to reboot Tennessee's economy," Lee said Monday in a news release. "While demand exceeded original projections, our Unified Command group adapted quickly this weekend so that individuals who needed tests could receive them."
Saturday's turnout was the largest with more than 6,500 samples taken from 22 sites across all three grand divisions of the state, according to the governor's office. Tennessee Department of Health personnel and soldiers and airmen with the Tennessee National Guard operated 19 sites.
That was four more sites than originally planned that were specifically added to meet demand.
Sunday testing turnout exceeded expectations as well, with more than 4,600 tests collected across 11 sites. On both days, many Tennesseans drove to sites outside their counties of residence to obtain a test from a neighboring county that operated a weekend site.
Testing figures for Chattanooga regional sites showed:
* Marion County: 331 tests
* McMinn County: 334 tests
* Van Buren County: 164 tests
* Loudon County: 107
Hamilton County, which has experienced testing problems, had been on the list for a site but state Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said last week that fell through due to the mayhem caused by the deadly storms that swept through late on Easter Sunday.
But Hamilton will be in line for the state's next round of drive-through testing, Piercey said.
Expanded testing will continue for the next two weekends, April 25-26 and May 2-3. In addition to drive-thru sites, all rural county health departments across the state offer free COVID-19 testing 5 days a week.
Piercey stated Monday that "since Gov. Lee's expanded testing initiative announcement last week, we continue to see an increase in the number of citizens who want to be tested whether it's on a weekday or weekend and regardless of symptoms."
She added, "We thank our local partners for their help in making testing events a success and encourage citizens to utilize their local health departments for testing during the week."
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on Twitter @AndySher1.