The moment is urgent in the mind of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to help our area’s health care system be prepared with locations to create coronavirus testing opportunities in wake of the large-scale growth of the outbreak, particularly in poor neighborhoods of the city.
“We have to set up places in the community where people can go to get tested,” said Mayor Tom Barrett in a joint city-county news conference Friday afternoon.
Milwaukee has recently reached one of the largest per-capita positive COVID-19 test rates in America, with the knowledge that more people probably have the virus but have not yet had access to testing due to a lack of available tests or places to get tested.
“We have days or hours to make sure we don’t face the same challenge here,” he said.
“We have to work very, very closely, very, very quickly.”
The Mayor cited the newly-passed federal $2 trillion legislation which will include billions for medical groups to fight COVID-19.
“There is a significant injection for hospitals in that legislation, whatever problems we have in this country about access to health care, at this time, for this point, we have to make sure everyone has the same access to testing throughout this community.”