State COVID-19 Testing In Warsaw Will Continue
July 23, 2020 at 12:16 a.m.
State COVID-19 Testing In Warsaw Will Continue
By David [email protected]
But there are some limitations.
Starting out the weekly coronavirus press conference Wednesday at Warsaw City Hall, Mayor Joe Thallemer said he verified shortly beforehand that the state testing site will be in Warsaw through at least Aug. 8.
The state began free drive-thru testing at the west side parking lot at Central Park on Tuesday, July 14. Testing is available for people 12 years old and older from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Originally, the state testing was to end this Saturday, but that’s been extended for two more weeks.
“That mobile testing site has become very important, very critical in our defense here. The availability and access of testing has just dramatically increased. We’ve averaged about 200 tests per day. Yesterday, they did 280-some tests, and he said had it not rained, they would have hit 300, so the rough estimates are about 1,200 tests have been done in six days,” Thallemer said.
The other “good” news, he said, is that test results have been coming back “fairly quick.” One person he talked to received their test results back within 72 hours. The state’s mobile lab tests are analyzed at the state lab.
“We’re most appreciative of what we’re getting here and we’re very appreciative of their hard work. Certainly, want to thank the State Department of Health and all those great employees and the National Guard members who are down at the parks,” Thallemer said.
A “big issue” right now, he said, is that the state testing sites are not testing children under the age of 12.
“We know with school coming up that we’ve got to address that,” Thallemer said, but it will be addressed.
The city and county government have been using CARES Act funds to provide testing at the three MedStat locations in the county for over a month. Thallemer said MedStat has agreed to test those under 12.
“So there is a free site for children under 12 right now,” he said. “That testing program at MedStat continues, however, they have had an issue with their lab, as well as availability of supplies, and they have somewhat limited now at least through early to mid August the drive-up testing.”
The MedStat testing is being limited to symptomatically exposed patients who have been seen by their provider; symptomatic or exposed patients who have an order from their primary care physician; nursing home patients; and children 12 and under who can’t be tested at the state testing site, but they must be symptomatic or with a known exposure.
“Fortunately, the state mobile site has really come at a perfect time when our local CARES sites have experienced some of the nationwide concerns of shortage of supplies and backup at labs. So, big kudos to the Department of Health for getting that site here and we’ve got them through at least Aug. 8. And we’re very hopeful that MedStat will have their supply and lab issues taken care of by then,” Thallemer said.
Through July 14, he said there’s been 318 CARES Act funded COVID-19 tests at the three MedStat locations.
He then announced that – possibly later this week – further expansion of the CARES Act supported testing in the community.
“We’ve talked with Parkview and we’re working out the final details of drive-up testing. And that will be announced ... I just want you to understand that’s not available through Parkview yet, but we have talked to them and we just have to finalize some details. So that expansion will be helpful,” Thallemer said.
On Tuesday, he said, “We received guidance from the Health Department ... about those folks who have tested positive and what their self-isolation protocol is.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated that protocol. Thallemer said the “most important thing” to that update was that “testing is not recommended strategy for returning to work anymore.” The CDC’s guidelines now are that self-isolation should be 10 days from the day a person tests positive or when symptoms start, if it’s a mild or asymptomatic; 20 days if it’s a moderate or severe case from when symptoms start.
“And there’s more to it than that. But the big thing is that the CDC now does not recommend a testing strategy for returning to work,” Thallemer said.
Kosciusko County Public Health Officer Dr. William Remington said the county’s case count continues to grow at a “steady” beat and “not explosive,” about 70 to 90 new positive cases a week.
“We expect the number to really jump up as we start pulling results from all the testing being done at Center Lake,” Remington said. “So our numbers will go up.”
He said the local hospitals are “holding their own” on the frontlines and there’s no surging of cases at the hospitals. Clinical settings and intensive care units have plenty of accommodations for patient care, he said.
“Those metrics will be increasingly important as we see, again, absolute numbers of cases really jump up, which might look frightening here a week or two weeks from now. All of this demonstrating that clearly we have ongoing community transmission of COVID, and it’s not going away anytime soon,” Remington stated.
He stressed the importance of social distancing, masking and hand washing.
“We’re thankful that, increasingly, there are commercial settings where masks are expected where you enter the store,” he said.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is entertaining all options, as is Kosciusko County, he said. “We are not there at this point with a mask mandate, but the temperament of that discussion seems to be growing,” he said. If hospitalizations “really surge, we’ll take that step here.”
Wednesday afternoon, Holcomb announced he will sign an executive order that will require masks for all Hoosiers, effective Monday, July 27. Face coverings will be required in public indoor spaces, public transportation and outside public spaces when it’s not possible to social distance.
Following Holcomb’s announcement, Thallemer issued a statement that he supports the mask order, and that Holcomb referenced the upward trending numbers in Kosciusko County in his remarks as he announced the mask mandate.
“Wearing a face coverings inside public spaces or outside where social distancing is not possible protects yourself and those around you. With the importance of a safe return to school and to avoid moving ‘backwards’ in our efforts to get through this, I ask that we all comply with the governor’s mandate” said Thallemer in his statement. “From day one, our state has utilized public health data to support its response to all phases of this pandemic. The science is clear that the use of face coverings is easy and very effective”
The number of deaths are something to watch Remington said during the local press conference, noting that the county has had an increase in the past week (from four to eight as of Sunday).
“It’s a lagging indicator, as we say, so deaths today reflect an infection that probably started six weeks ago, but it’s a solid indicator, if you will, from a public health perspective. It helps you gauge the severity of the virus,” Remington said.
He noted that there had been some decrease in mortality rates across the country, but for a season those numbers will probably go up again because of that lagging indicator.
“So don’t take our foot off the gas with our social interventions that we’re trying to achieve with this virus that has no specific treatment, at least in the outpatient setting,” Remington said.
With schools starting soon, he said testing is on everyone’s mind. On young children under 12 not being tested at the state sites, Remington said he heard it was because of a swab issue but wasn’t sure of all the details. With MedStat, and hopefully Parkview coming online, he said that will be a help in providing more testing for children.
Alluding to Thallemer’s previous comments on testing as a strategy, Remington said, “The testing paradigm, in general, from the CDC has shifted a bit. Using a test as a way to get back to work is increasingly discouraged. You usually don’t need to do that, and sometimes you trip into these people that have these persistent positive nasal tests for weeks, and it doesn’t mean anything clinically, probably. So don’t do that.” He said it’s just “choking up” the testing, which needs to be freed up.
“This thought has been prominent in my mind the last couple of days: When have we ever had adequate testing with this pandemic? We never really have,” Remington said. “People can get to a test. They may have to wait a while, the test results may come after a while. But still you’re left with lots of clinical decision making, independent of availability of a test. And let me just say, that’s OK. Remember this pathogen has no specific treatment, at least in the outpatient setting, that’s been well-vetted.”
The testing helps with the discussions regarding isolation of those ill and quarantining of those in close contact with those ill, he said. “So those are tough to do without a confident diagnosis, and, as you know, the COVID array of symptoms is non-specific, so testing has its place. But, we’ve never had 100% available tests and we still have to behave clinically with this,” he said.
But there are some limitations.
Starting out the weekly coronavirus press conference Wednesday at Warsaw City Hall, Mayor Joe Thallemer said he verified shortly beforehand that the state testing site will be in Warsaw through at least Aug. 8.
The state began free drive-thru testing at the west side parking lot at Central Park on Tuesday, July 14. Testing is available for people 12 years old and older from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Originally, the state testing was to end this Saturday, but that’s been extended for two more weeks.
“That mobile testing site has become very important, very critical in our defense here. The availability and access of testing has just dramatically increased. We’ve averaged about 200 tests per day. Yesterday, they did 280-some tests, and he said had it not rained, they would have hit 300, so the rough estimates are about 1,200 tests have been done in six days,” Thallemer said.
The other “good” news, he said, is that test results have been coming back “fairly quick.” One person he talked to received their test results back within 72 hours. The state’s mobile lab tests are analyzed at the state lab.
“We’re most appreciative of what we’re getting here and we’re very appreciative of their hard work. Certainly, want to thank the State Department of Health and all those great employees and the National Guard members who are down at the parks,” Thallemer said.
A “big issue” right now, he said, is that the state testing sites are not testing children under the age of 12.
“We know with school coming up that we’ve got to address that,” Thallemer said, but it will be addressed.
The city and county government have been using CARES Act funds to provide testing at the three MedStat locations in the county for over a month. Thallemer said MedStat has agreed to test those under 12.
“So there is a free site for children under 12 right now,” he said. “That testing program at MedStat continues, however, they have had an issue with their lab, as well as availability of supplies, and they have somewhat limited now at least through early to mid August the drive-up testing.”
The MedStat testing is being limited to symptomatically exposed patients who have been seen by their provider; symptomatic or exposed patients who have an order from their primary care physician; nursing home patients; and children 12 and under who can’t be tested at the state testing site, but they must be symptomatic or with a known exposure.
“Fortunately, the state mobile site has really come at a perfect time when our local CARES sites have experienced some of the nationwide concerns of shortage of supplies and backup at labs. So, big kudos to the Department of Health for getting that site here and we’ve got them through at least Aug. 8. And we’re very hopeful that MedStat will have their supply and lab issues taken care of by then,” Thallemer said.
Through July 14, he said there’s been 318 CARES Act funded COVID-19 tests at the three MedStat locations.
He then announced that – possibly later this week – further expansion of the CARES Act supported testing in the community.
“We’ve talked with Parkview and we’re working out the final details of drive-up testing. And that will be announced ... I just want you to understand that’s not available through Parkview yet, but we have talked to them and we just have to finalize some details. So that expansion will be helpful,” Thallemer said.
On Tuesday, he said, “We received guidance from the Health Department ... about those folks who have tested positive and what their self-isolation protocol is.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has updated that protocol. Thallemer said the “most important thing” to that update was that “testing is not recommended strategy for returning to work anymore.” The CDC’s guidelines now are that self-isolation should be 10 days from the day a person tests positive or when symptoms start, if it’s a mild or asymptomatic; 20 days if it’s a moderate or severe case from when symptoms start.
“And there’s more to it than that. But the big thing is that the CDC now does not recommend a testing strategy for returning to work,” Thallemer said.
Kosciusko County Public Health Officer Dr. William Remington said the county’s case count continues to grow at a “steady” beat and “not explosive,” about 70 to 90 new positive cases a week.
“We expect the number to really jump up as we start pulling results from all the testing being done at Center Lake,” Remington said. “So our numbers will go up.”
He said the local hospitals are “holding their own” on the frontlines and there’s no surging of cases at the hospitals. Clinical settings and intensive care units have plenty of accommodations for patient care, he said.
“Those metrics will be increasingly important as we see, again, absolute numbers of cases really jump up, which might look frightening here a week or two weeks from now. All of this demonstrating that clearly we have ongoing community transmission of COVID, and it’s not going away anytime soon,” Remington stated.
He stressed the importance of social distancing, masking and hand washing.
“We’re thankful that, increasingly, there are commercial settings where masks are expected where you enter the store,” he said.
Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is entertaining all options, as is Kosciusko County, he said. “We are not there at this point with a mask mandate, but the temperament of that discussion seems to be growing,” he said. If hospitalizations “really surge, we’ll take that step here.”
Wednesday afternoon, Holcomb announced he will sign an executive order that will require masks for all Hoosiers, effective Monday, July 27. Face coverings will be required in public indoor spaces, public transportation and outside public spaces when it’s not possible to social distance.
Following Holcomb’s announcement, Thallemer issued a statement that he supports the mask order, and that Holcomb referenced the upward trending numbers in Kosciusko County in his remarks as he announced the mask mandate.
“Wearing a face coverings inside public spaces or outside where social distancing is not possible protects yourself and those around you. With the importance of a safe return to school and to avoid moving ‘backwards’ in our efforts to get through this, I ask that we all comply with the governor’s mandate” said Thallemer in his statement. “From day one, our state has utilized public health data to support its response to all phases of this pandemic. The science is clear that the use of face coverings is easy and very effective”
The number of deaths are something to watch Remington said during the local press conference, noting that the county has had an increase in the past week (from four to eight as of Sunday).
“It’s a lagging indicator, as we say, so deaths today reflect an infection that probably started six weeks ago, but it’s a solid indicator, if you will, from a public health perspective. It helps you gauge the severity of the virus,” Remington said.
He noted that there had been some decrease in mortality rates across the country, but for a season those numbers will probably go up again because of that lagging indicator.
“So don’t take our foot off the gas with our social interventions that we’re trying to achieve with this virus that has no specific treatment, at least in the outpatient setting,” Remington said.
With schools starting soon, he said testing is on everyone’s mind. On young children under 12 not being tested at the state sites, Remington said he heard it was because of a swab issue but wasn’t sure of all the details. With MedStat, and hopefully Parkview coming online, he said that will be a help in providing more testing for children.
Alluding to Thallemer’s previous comments on testing as a strategy, Remington said, “The testing paradigm, in general, from the CDC has shifted a bit. Using a test as a way to get back to work is increasingly discouraged. You usually don’t need to do that, and sometimes you trip into these people that have these persistent positive nasal tests for weeks, and it doesn’t mean anything clinically, probably. So don’t do that.” He said it’s just “choking up” the testing, which needs to be freed up.
“This thought has been prominent in my mind the last couple of days: When have we ever had adequate testing with this pandemic? We never really have,” Remington said. “People can get to a test. They may have to wait a while, the test results may come after a while. But still you’re left with lots of clinical decision making, independent of availability of a test. And let me just say, that’s OK. Remember this pathogen has no specific treatment, at least in the outpatient setting, that’s been well-vetted.”
The testing helps with the discussions regarding isolation of those ill and quarantining of those in close contact with those ill, he said. “So those are tough to do without a confident diagnosis, and, as you know, the COVID array of symptoms is non-specific, so testing has its place. But, we’ve never had 100% available tests and we still have to behave clinically with this,” he said.
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