Maricopa County is investing more federal CARES Act dollars in partnerships that will provide testing to underserved populations. The Board of Supervisors acted to double the amount of money allocated toward testing services—both for COVID-19 and the upcoming flu season. The Board vote brings to $50 million the amount set aside for testing services.
For weeks, Maricopa County has been working with trusted partners to provide testing in communities around our region. The goal is to enhance the testing capacity already put in place by the state of Arizona and some cities. Maricopa County does not want to duplicate the efforts of state or health care partners; rather, the County is focus on filling in gaps for communities where testing options are limited, or hotspots where the need for testing is greater. A special webpage, maricopa.gov/COVID19Testing, has been set up, outlining dates, times, and pertinent information community testing events funded by Maricopa County. This site will be updated as more testing events are added. The website also links out to testing options available through Arizona Department of Health Services.
Information about testing events will also be available through the county Facebook page @maricopacountyaz and in NextDoor posts targeted to the communities where testing sites will be available.
In addition to testing services, the Board of Supervisors also allocated more CARES Act funds toward other key aspects of the county’s COVID-19 response, including contact tracing and case investigation; personal protective equipment; mitigation measures for people experiencing homelessness; and support for schools and fire districts.