COVID testing available locally

A negative COVID-19 test is good news, but the celebration may be short-lived.

Tests for the public — for people who have been exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms — are available in several locations in northeast Wisconsin. However the test, like so many other aspects of COVID-19, does not provide 100% reassurance against having the virus.

A negative test means that the person tested is not currently sick or does not have enough virus yet to show up in a test. Vicki Dantoin, Shawano-Menominee Counties health officer, noted that if someone is exposed to a person with COVID-19, self-quarantine remains an important way to stop the spread of the disease.

“Even if you test on day five, you could come down with it on days 6-14,” she noted. She added that the 14-day isolation period is based on the best statistics currently available about the new disease. She estimated that the two-week period would capture about 95% of the infections.

Testing, though, remains a valuable tool to help health care providers and patients plan.

In Shawano, Oconto and Menominee counties, tests are available to the public; however, what the tests can and can’t do depends on the type of test. The type of test varies but can be scheduled through health care providers throughout the area. (See related story with test options.)

Amber Allen, executive director of primary care, quality and innovation at Prevea Health, called this testing a look “at a moment in time.”

She said a patient can test negative but still have the disease, because they were infected within the past 48 hours and there is not enough virus yet to show up on the test. They can also test negative and become infected upon leaving the test site.

Patients must have a reason to be tested, such as being in close contact with someone who has tested positive or having symptoms of the virus. For this reason, anyone testing positive is asked to self-quarantine.

She agreed that isolation is a big part of the reason for the test. As it can take 14 days for the virus to show up, if someone has been near someone who tested positive, that is a long time to spend around others.

The clinic or drive-in tests are paid for by the state of Wisconsin, though some tests are billed to insurance for some hospital-based care, she said.

Test results such as the tests now available at the drive-up service in Shawano at the Prevea Clinic, 1300 E. Green Bay St., Shawano, use a specimen from both nostrils. The sample is collected and sent to Exact Sciences, an independent lab in Madison that processes specimens for the state of Wisconsin, Allen said.

From the patient’s nose, the sample goes into a sterile container. Then it is shipped to Madison where it is analyzed for RNA, converted to DNA and interpreted. (RNA and DNA are molecules found in a cell’s nucleus that help form a blueprint of a cell.) Unlike some tests, nothing is grown on a Petri dish.

Although all testing sites have slightly different procedures, patients in community tests generally wait two to five days for results.

Positive results are shared with the patient and the county health department.

The tests at the drive-in sites will show if the patient currently has a COVID-19 infection. Another type of test, the antibody test, shows if the patient had the disease in the past. This is not included in the drive-up service.

Prevea is testing an average of 23 patients a day in Shawano County and about 40 a day in Oconto County, Allen said.

Prevea is currently testing only for COVID-19, Allen said. Later this fall, she said, strep or influenza may be added to the tests that are run on the samples.

In an effort to protect the privacy of their patients and providers, video and photos are not permitted at Prevea Health COVID-19 testing sites. An exception was made for the purpose of this story to help educate the community about the COVID-19 testing process. Those photographed for the purposes of this story provided appropriate consent to Prevea.