MADISON, Wis. – The need for testing is climbing right along with the increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in Wisconsin. The best option for testing depends on a few factors.
Health systems offer testing for those with symptoms
If you do have symptoms, Madison’s three major health systems said you can reach out to your care provider and set up a time to get tested. SSM Health invites patients to start with its online screening questionnaire. Those who meet the criteria to get tested will receive information on testing sites.
“Testing will not be recommended for asymptomatic patients,” an SSM spokesperson wrote. “We recommend those people go to community testing sites like the Alliant Energy Center in Madison.”
That’s the same message from UW-Health as well as UnityPoint Health – Meriter.
“We offer testing at our primary care clinics and our weekend After-Hours Clinic for those with symptoms,” a UnityPoint spokesperson said. “If you’ve been exposed to a confirmed case, we recommend going to one of the public testing sites for testing if you haven’t developed symptoms.”
While health officials say a negative test shouldn’t be viewed as a free pass to gather, many have been taking advantage of free community testing options ahead of Thanksgiving.
UW-Madison surge site provides free rapid testing for all community members
“We’ve been very busy, as you can imagine before Thanksgiving,” said Alan Fish, Associate Vice Chancellor of Facilities Planning & Management at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “People are kind of flocking to get this test.”
A surge testing site has been set up at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium, free to any community member over the age of 5 who makes an appointment online. It’s one of many set up at UW campuses across the state as part of a program supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which allocated about 80,000 testing kits to UW-Madison.
“You don’t need to have symptoms; you can just want to know,” Fish said.
Fish said they do about 100 tests an hour, adding up to more than 1,000 during 11-hour days. They’re currently booked up before Thanksgiving, when the site will take a four-day break and resume testing on Monday until they run out of the testing kits.
“As we see the spike of cases just escalate tremendously in the state, clearly more testing is a good thing,” Fish said.
“They can come in and out,” said Myra Ballmer, a site lead and registered nurse. “They can wait for their tests. They don’t have to worry about days. It’s a rapid test. It’s 15 minutes.”
The Kohl Center also offers rapid antigen testing for UW-Madison students and employees in addition to the PCR tests available to them through University Health Services.
Although the antigen tests aren’t as accurate as PCR tests, which can take a few days for results, Fish said they’re still a useful tool.
“At a time when we’re in a surge, more testing, even with it not being quite as accurate, is a good thing for us right now,” Fish said.
Any positive antigen test results will also be confirmed by a diagnostic test.
Free community testing sites stay busy
That’s the type of testing done at the Alliant Energy Center, where Public Health Madison & Dane County has stayed busy the last several weeks, as well, often with several-hour waits early in the week. PHMDC recommends testing at that site for those with symptoms, those who have had close contact with someone who tested positive and those whose work puts them at higher risk. PHMDC does not recommend testing there for peace of mind.
In late October, the State announced more than 70 additional free community testing sites in places such as community centers and pharmacies. That includes the Fitchburg Family Pharmacy, where appointments have been booking as quickly as they’re posted.
Its owner, Thad Schumacher, said the testing is open to anyone granted they have an appointment. They average 300 tests per week, with the plan to expand to up to 400 per week.
“It is always good to start with a health care provider, but there are community testing sites all across the state where people can also be tested,” a Wisconsin Department of Health Services spokesperson said.
More community testing sites can be found here on the DHS website.
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