FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Media contact: Mark Schaaf (262) 977-1363
CENTRAL RACINE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT,
RACINE COUNTY EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER
TO OFFER COVID-19 TESTING AT FIVE-DAY DRIVE-THRU TEST SITE
May 6, 2020 – The Central Racine County Health Department and the Racine County Emergency Operations Center are partnering with the Wisconsin National Guard to open a five-day surge COVID-19 testing site to meet testing demand in Racine County as well as in surrounding counties and health department jurisdictions. Increased testing is a key priority for the reopening of Racine County and Wisconsin.
Testing Dates, Hours and Site
From Monday, May 11 through Friday, May 15, between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m., Wisconsin residents or people who work in Wisconsin who are experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 can come to a free, drive-thru clinic. Drive-thru testing will be conducted at Burlington High School, 400 McCanna Pkwy, Burlington, WI 53105. People should enter the testing site from the driveway north of the high school from McCanna Parkway.
Community Testing Requirements and Information
No appointment is necessary for the drive-thru clinic. Racine County’s community test site will have the capacity to conduct 300 nasal swab tests each day. Members of the Wisconsin National Guard will conduct the testing and manage the specimen samples. Testing is available for those ages 5 and older but minors must be accompanied by a parent or guardian who can consent to the testing. Symptoms of COVID-19 include but are not limited to: Fever (>100.4); cough; shortness of breath or difficulty breathing; sore throat; headache; chills or rigors (repetitive shaking chills); muscle aches; new abnormalities in taste or smell.
“Many people with COVID-19 symptoms have been unable to get tested for a variety of reasons,” said Central Racine County Health Officer, Margaret Gesner. “The goal of this clinic is to provide access to testing to anyone in the community with symptoms. It is important to provide symptomatic residents and workers as well as symptomatic contacts to cases with testing in order to help identify cases and mitigate the spread of disease.”
“This testing is important to provide insight into COVID-19 disease rates so we can inform best practices as we work to reopen Racine County,” said Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave. “We encourage everyone who may have COVID-19 symptoms to utilize this surge clinic next week, and we are working to provide even more testing opportunities for Racine County residents in the near future.”
More information about the Central Racine County Health Department can be found at https://crchd.com/covid-19 and information about Racine County’s response to COVID-19 is available at www.racinecounty.com/coronavirus.