Romeoville Coronavirus Update: No Test Kits For First Responders

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Police Commander Brant Hromadka told Patch on Thursday that the police department has not been provided with any coronavirus test kits for field testing, nor was he aware of any plan by public agencies to provide them to the department. Instead, he said, officers whose detainees are rejected by the county jail for showing coronavirus symptoms are required to bring them to nearby hospitals, usually Amita St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet.

"We haven't received any test kits," Hromadka said. "We haven't even had an option to get them."

According to Steve Brandy, public information officer with the Will County Health Department, the Romeoville Police Department's situation in this regard is the same as all first responder organizations that he is aware of. As the coronavirus crisis continues and Illinois' confirmed cases crest 7,600, he said there simply aren't enough kits for everyone.

"With the extreme lack of test kits... I don't think any are available for police," Brandy said.

He added that who gets test kits and who doesn't is usually a federal decision. There simply aren't enough resources for everyone, and so states and counties have been left to compete for what's available. Even when test kits or other coronavirus equipment is made available to local authorities, it's often earmarked for particular use — for health care workers to use, for example.

Sometimes, Brandy said, the announcement of new test kits or other resources arriving is so unpredictable that local authorities are left playing catch-up.

"This is more of a feds question... even with the drive-thru [test site] in Walmart [in Joliet], we were only told last minute, so we could get the word out," Brandy said.

Brandy said he hoped police and other first responders would eventually be able to acquire test kits for field work, though he wasn't sure when — if ever — that would be.

On a more positive note, Hromadka did say that the police have been provided with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as gloves and masks, and that so far they remain well-stocked.

"We're pretty well-stocked. Shortages may be a concern in the future, but right now we're all right," Hromadka said.

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