Colorado will receive $181 million from the federal government to support its statewide testing program, Gov. Jared Polis and the state’s two senators announced Tuesday morning.

The money will come from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s public assistance program to help the state’s “free, quick and easy COVID-19 testing sites,” according to a public statement from Polis and Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper.

Per that announcement, the money had been earmarked for Colorado but had been delayed. Hickenlooper stepped in to help unlock it faster.

“This is much-needed relief for our state so I am thrilled Senator Hickenlooper has hit the ground running in Washington and I look forward to working with him, Senator Bennet, and our federal delegation to ensure we are delivering results, are getting federal resources to Colorado, and are building back stronger than before the pandemic,” Polis said.

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“We have embarked on one of the largest public health surveillance efforts in our state’s history,” Bennet said. “This funding will help Governor Polis and our local public health agencies meet the testing needs of Coloradans as we continue to combat this virus and reopen our economy. I’ll continue working closely with Senator Hickenlooper in the Senate to help Colorado recover from this pandemic.”

Colorado has dozens of sites across the state that provide free testing for residents.

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As of Monday afternoon, the state has collected more than 5 million samples since the pandemic began. The number of tests administered weekly has steady declined in recent weeks as the overall case load has dropped.

In Denver, for instance, testing is significantly down compared to the end of December, even more so vs. testing during the peak of the fall surge in mid-November.

Lisa Miller, the interim associate dean for public health practice at the Colorado School of Public Health, said there wasn’t “good scientific data” about what drives people to get tested.

She said that generally, there are two types of people who get tested.

The first is people who are symptomatic or who have been in contact with someone who’s sick. The number of people testing from that group would necessarily rise when there’s more disease present in a community or in the state — like during the fall surge — and would then fall as peaks level off or peak, as is the case now.

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The other group, Miller continued, are those that get tested out of precautions. Maybe they traveled or were present in a large group or gathering. 

“The whole holiday situation drove testing,” she said. “People were seeking testing because they were going to travel, they were seeking testing after the traveled or after they were in groups.”

Other theories about what drives testing are public health messaging and media attention to the rise of casing.

Despite the recent fall in cases, Polis and public health officials have still urged Coloradans to get tested when needed and to wear masks, to socially distance and to wash your hands.