Coronavirus testing to begin in Wisconsin; ‘Risk to public remains low’

Deb Brazil by Jordan Fremstad

State health officials will now be able to test for the coronavirus. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Wisconsin-Madison made the announcement Monday.

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WKBT) – State health officials will now be able to test for the coronavirus. The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene at the University of Wisconsin-Madison made the announcement Monday. Testing will take place at UW-Madison and the Milwaukee Health Department.

Before the change, test samples had to be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia.

“Together the availability of testing both state lab and the Milwaukee city lab will mean faster results and increased capacity for testing in Wisconsin,” said Allen Batemen, assistant state lab director, during a statewide video call.

Officials have already sent test samples for 18 people with only one confirmed case in the state. The state is still waiting on two more potential cases. However, the one confirmed patient is doing ok according to state officials.

“The one confirmed patient we have been following for a number of weeks has been released from isolation and is doing well,” said Jeanne Ayers, state health officer. “Tests have come back negative and we have been able to resolve that first case.”

People eligible for testing include those with symptoms. Symptoms include a fever, cough, and shortness of breath, and having traveled to areas where the infection is active (China, Iran, South Korea, Italy) within 14 days of when symptoms began. or having contact with a confirmed case.

They say people who experience symptoms are asked to contact their local health department. They don’t want people walking into medical centers and possibly exposing more people to the virus.

“Have as limited human interaction as we possibly can,” said Tom Haupt, from the state health department.

Ayers said the Coronavirus is not something local communities need to panic over.

“We want to continue to stress that the risk to the public remains low in Wisconsin,” Ayers said.

Americans are at greater risk for the flu right now than the coronavirus. There are 32 million flu illnesses and 18,000 deaths from flu this season according to the CDC. The reason health officials are so concerned is that the virus is not fully understood by health experts.

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