WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) contacted U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) Alex Azar to push for drive-through testing sites in Kentucky. McConnell also asked for more testing kits and personal protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers in Kentucky. Senator McConnell contacted Secretary Azar following a conversation with Governor Andy Beshear (D-KY) to discuss Kentucky’s response to coronavirus.

In the letter to Secretary Azar, Senator McConnell wrote: “I commend your department’s innovative response by establishing drive-through testing sites across the country. As your department implements this public-private program, I ask that you establish these testing sites in the Commonwealth. Kentucky is widely recognized as one of our nation’s premier logistics hubs and is centrally located to easily receive the necessary tools to make drive-through testing accessible to our most vulnerable."

He continued by urging Azar to work with Beshear saying, "It is imperative that Kentucky’s hospitals, community health centers, nursing homes, and other critical providers have access to this equipment to care for patients while stopping the spread of the coronavirus in the Commonwealth. 

McConnell's letter also said areas throughout the state are ready to set up local testing sites, the only things missing are testing kits. He asks for additional kits so communities can begin testing to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.