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ALEXANDRA: MANY OF YOU HAVE CONTACTED US AND EVEN SOME NEBRASKA DOCTORS CALLED THE PROCESS TO GET A COVID-19 TEST COMPLICATED. WE’VE HEARD MANY QUESTIONS THIS WEEK ABOUT TESTING. SO TODAY, WE’RE TALKING TO THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAB ABOUT WHAT THE SUPPLY LOOKS LIK TESTING FOR COVID-19 CONTINUES TO DRAW QUESTIONS. MONDAY, GOVERNOR PETE RICKETTS SPOKE ABOUT AVAILABILTY. GOV. RICKETTS: WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE THE CAPABILITY OF DOING A COUPLE HUNDRED TESTS A DAY IN OUR OWN LABS. ALEXANDRA: IN THAT ADDRESS, RICKETTS SAID THE STATE HAD NOT YET NEEDED TO TEST THAT MANY PEOPLE IN A GIVEN DAY. ON WEDNESDAY, A LINCOLN DOCTOR TOLD KETV NEWSWATCH 7 HER OFFI HAD FIVE PATIENTS THAT IT RECOMMENDED FOR COVID-19 TESTING, BUT ALL OF THEM WERE TURNED DOWN BY THE HEALTH DEPT. -- HEALTH DEPARTMENT. >> NOT MANY PEOPLE CAN GET TESTED. ALEXANDRA: SO IF THE STATE HAS CAPACITY FOR 200 TESTS A DAY AND IT ISN’T REACHING THAT NUMBER, WHY AREN’T MORE BEING TESTED? >> I THINK THE ISSUE COMES DOWN TO THEY ARE TRYING TO HOLD BACK THE GATES A LITTLE BIT. ALEXANDRA: DR. PETER IWEN IS DIRECTOR OF THE NEBRASKA PUBLIC HEALTH LAB. THE LAB HAS NO CONTROL OVER WHO GETS TESTED HEALTH DEPARTMENTS -- THE LAB HAS NO CONTROL OVER WHO GETS TESTED. HEALTH DEPARTMENTS GIVE THE APPROVAL. IWEN SAYS THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAB AND A NEBRASKA MEDICINE LAB ARE PROVIDING MOST COVID-19 TESTING IN THE STATE RIGHT NOW. WHILE THEY CAN EACH PROCESS ABOUT 100 TESTS A DAY, IWEN SAYS AT THAT RATE THE SUPPLY WOULD QUICKLY RUN OUT. >> IF WE CONTIUE DO 100 A DAY, WE WILL PROBABLY WE OUT OF REAGENTS WE NEED IN ABOUT A WEEK. ALEXANDRA: HE SAYS THOSE REAGENTS ARE IN SHORT SUPPLY AND NECESSARY FOR TESTING. >> IF WE DON’T HAVE ALL THE REAGENTS, WE CAN’T RUN THE TEST. IT’S SIMILAR TO MAKING COOKIES, YOU GET THE FLOUR, THE SUGAR, THE EGGS, BUT YOU’RE MISSING ONE OF THOSE INGREDIENTS, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO MAKE THE COOKIE. ALEXANDRA: SO UNTIL AVAILABILTY EXPANDS, HE SAYS SOME PEOPLE SIMPLY CAN’T GET TESTED. >> IT’S ALMOST LIKE A BOMB THAT JUST HIT AND SET. NOW WE WENT FROM BAD TO WORSE BECAUSE WE CAN’T TEST LARGE VOLUMES OF PEOPLE. BUT WE CAN TEST PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY, REALLY SICK AND NEED TO BE TESTED. ALEXANDRA: AGAIN, THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAB IS NOT INVOLVED IN APPROVING PEOPLE FOR TESTING. WE REACHED OUT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES TO GET ANSWERS ABOUT TESTING. THE AGENCY SAYS SUPPLIES ARE LIMITED, AND ARE PRIORITIZED FOR PEOPLE IN THE HOSPIT

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The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services said it's giving power to doctors to diagnose COVID-19 without a test. The information came in a Health Alert Network advisory sent to health care providers on Wednesday. "Capacity and supplies for COVID-19 laboratory testing cannot meet current demand," the HAN read, "A simple clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 infection warrants self-isolation, and should be the norm, even in the absence of a positive COVID-19 lab result. This could change if testing capacity expands." The advisory also said any of the following symptoms, alone or in combination, should warrant self-isolation: temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, cough, shortness of breath or sore throat. For more on that HAN and testing criteria, click here. Testing for COVID-19 continues to draw questions. On Monday, Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts spoke about availability. "We know that we have the capability of doing a couple hundred tests a day in our own labs," Ricketts said. In that address, Ricketts said the state had not yet needed to test that many people in a given day. On Wednesday, a Lincoln doctor told KETV Newswatch 7, her office had five patients who it recommended for COVID-19 testing and were all turned down by the health department. "Not many people can get tested," Dr. Linsey Haden said. If the state has capacity for 200 tests a day, and it isn't reaching that number, why aren't more being tested? "I think the issue is, they're trying to hold back the gates a little bit," said Peter Iwen, director of the Nebraska Public Health Lab.The NPHL has no control over who gets tested. Health departments give the approval. Iwen said the public health lab and a Nebraska Medicine lab are providing most COVID-19 testing in the state right now. While Iwen said each lab can process about 100 COVID-19 tests a day, he said at that rate, the supply would quickly run out. "If we continue doing 100 a day, we probably will be out of the reagents we need in about a week," Iwen said. Iwen explained, reagents are a necessary part of running a test, and they're in short supply. "If we don't have all the reagents, we can't run the test," Iwen said, "It's similar to making cookies. You know if you get the flour, the sugar, the eggs, but you're missing one of those ingredients, you're not going to make the cookie." Until availability expands, Iwen said some people simply can't get tested. "It's almost like a bomb that just hit, and now we're looking at, you know went from bad to worse. Because we can't test large volumes of people. But we can test the people that are really, really sick and need to be tested," Iwen said. KETV Newswatch 7 reached out to DHHS about the testing process. The department provided the following statement: "We understand the demand for COVID-19 testing and we want Nebraskans to know that public health officials, health care providers, and laboratories are working daily to increase COVID-19 testing in our state. Currently, testing supplies are limited and testing is being prioritized for those who are currently hospitalized and people in vulnerable or high-risk populations, as well as health care and public safety workers, nursing home and group home employees and residents, and childcare employees and attendees.Health care providers can also consider a diagnosis based on symptoms and screening instead of using lab confirmation, if the person isn’t in a vulnerable or high-risk population. As testing expands, we’ll provide more information on where Nebraskans can be tested."