Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds announced the launch of Test Iowa on Tuesday, a public/private partnership that will work to bring mass COVID-19 testing to Iowa in addition to federal assistance.

The partnership is between the state of Iowa and Silicon Slopes technology companies Domo, Qualtrics, and NomiHealth. Iowans can go to testiowa.com to take an assessment to see if they can qualify for a test. All Iowans are encouraged to take the assessment so the state can adjust and target their response efforts when looking where to set up testing sites.

On top of Iowa’s current testing capacity, this partnership will allow the state to test an additional 3,000 Iowans a day for around 180 days, Reynolds said during her daily press conference.

The first testing facility will be at the Iowa Events Center in Des Moines, and more testing sites will become available in the coming weeks. Those who qualify for a test will be able to schedule a time to get tested at the drive-through testing sites, even as new sites are popping up throughout the state.

The online assessment will ask where you live and what your occupation is to help the state identify hotspots. Health-care professionals and first responders will be the first to receive mass testing, and then eventually Iowans who are not experiencing symptoms will be able to get tested. Test results will be delivered electronically within 72 hours.

Reynolds said the goal of the partnership is to not only identify hotspots and provide widespread testing, but to also identify which parts of the state are safe to begin opening up businesses to the public. 

These private companies have been in a public/private partnership with the state of Utah for about two weeks, and Utah business leaders said during the Tuesday press conference that businesses in some parts of the state are beginning to reopen.

The data is analyzed by the Iowa Department of Public Health and is protected by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and the private companies are HIPAA compliant and do not have access to individuals’ personal health information, Reynolds said Tuesday.

Reynolds said the tests through this partnership will be at no cost to Iowans, and that Iowa is using some of its federal money to help fund this program.

Iowans can begin to take the online assessment as soon as possible, and testing will be available as early as April 25.