SHAWANO, WI – Shawano-Menominee County Health Department is taking time to address a public concern and says
COVID-19 testing is being conducted in Shawano County.
“We have people that have been tested that are waiting for results and we have some that are being tested every day,” said Shawano-Menominee County Health Officer Vicki Dantoin. “We are still awaiting our first confirmed positive but that does not mean that it is not out there and we can’t wait to be staying home, we need to stay at home now.”
In a press release from the health department Friday, it was stated that at least 30 people have tested negative for COVID-19 in the county, but not everybody who is ill is being tested.
Dantoin says the health system is doing priority testing.
“We prefer that people only be tested if they really needed it, like if they are hospitalized or quite ill, Dantoin said. “We are asking that if you have mild symptoms that you not be tested right away.”
Still, Dantoin says the testing numbers are not what the public should be focused on. “Having a positive result is not going to change anything. We still need to be practicing our prevention measures for a significant amount of time.”
Dantoin says that is why Safer at Home and social distancing are so important.
“It is kind of snapshot in time, so a person can test negative one day, but that does not mean it is the final answer either because they could also test positive later on.”
Dantoin explains what will happen if a test comes back positive in the county. “That will tell us that it is here and it is officially. We are kind of suspecting that it is here already, so all that will do is tell us that it is true.”
There have been some concerns that Shawano-Menominee County have do not have enough supplies to conduct testing.
“It is not a matter of that we have zero testing available, we are trying to get everyone to follow along with staying at home,” explained Dantoin.
“The number 30 for negative test results, we take that with a grain of salt. We are taking the precautions always and that will go on probably for a few months.
She says the best thing people can do is respond like the virus is already in the county and take the proper precautions to prevent the spread.
SHAWANO COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER VICKI DANTOIN TALKS ABOUT IF/WHEN SHAWANO COUNTY GETS A POSITIVE TEST RESULT
SHAWANO COUNTY HEALTH OFFICER VICKI DANTOIN TALKS ABOUT THE TESTING THAT HAS BEEN DONE
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