Wisconsin to offer at-home COVID-19 testing option
Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), today announced a new contract with Vault Medical Services that will add an additional tool to the Wisconsin COVID-19 testing toolbox starting today. At-home COVID-19 saliva collection kits will be available to everyone who lives in Wisconsin, with or without symptoms, at no cost.
“We believe that anyone in Wisconsin who needs to be tested for COVID-19 should have access to a test, and I’m proud of our statewide testing efforts throughout this pandemic,” said Gov. Evers. “We also know that getting to a health care provider or a community testing site isn’t easy for everyone, and that’s why we are excited to offer this new option to make testing even more accessible for folks across our state.”
Wisconsinites can order a collection kit online and have it shipped to their home. The kit will include detailed instructions on how to collect the saliva, which includes a video call with a testing supervisor through Vault Medical Services, and ship it back via UPS dropbox to the lab for processing.
“This is an important tool to provide easy access to COVID-19 testing,” said DHS Secretary-designee Andrea Palm. “As we roll out the COVID-19 vaccine to more Wisconsinites, we need to continue testing, contact tracing, and public health measures such as wearing a mask and social distancing.”
A saliva test is similar to a nasal swab test you might receive from a provider or at a community testing site. Like a nasal swab test, a saliva test determines whether you have an active COVID-19 infection and can spread it to others.
Although the rate of increase has dropped compared to earlier this month, in Taylor County the number of new cases continues to climb. As of Tuesday, the county had a seen a total of 1,722 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 16 potential new cases reported that day. There has been a dramatic drop in the number of people on quarantine. Currently 172 county residents are in quarantine compared to more than 400 a few weeks ago, with 12 local residents hospitalized. The number of COVID-19 related deaths reported by the Taylor County Medical Examiner’s office is at 30.
