GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Drive-up COVID-19 testing with rapid results is now available at the Weidner Center on the UW-Green Bay campus.
“The federal government gave the UW System about 250,000 tests that we can use, these rapid tests,” said UW-Green Bay Chancellor Michael Alexander. “Each university was responsible for getting it set up to be able to bring their community to get the tests.”
400 people signed up for the first day of rapid testing in Green Bay. Those people didn’t have to get out of their cars or wait very long to get results once they were tested.
“You could spread it without knowing you have it. So it’s really, really important that people come in and get these immediate tests so that they can then understand if they have it and to be able to isolate and quarantine and keep everybody else safe,” Alexander said.
“The fact that we have testing, and the fact that they had already 400 tests signed up today tells me that people want that immediate knowledge of whether or not if they’re infected,” said Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach. “I think the reason we’re seeing a lot of sign-up is because, quite frankly, you can find out in 20 minutes.”
Streckenbach calls it a very effective way to test for the virus, especially with the quick turnaround time sending people emails with their results in under half-an-hour.
“Reducing that turn around time from 3-5 days to 30 minutes is a huge step forward,” said Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich. “People are going to be much more responsible if they’ve gotten that positive result within a half an hour versus having to wait 3 to 5 days and having that uncertainty. I think that’s a big difference.”
Green Bay Mayor Eric Genrich (L), and Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach (R) self-administer rapid COVID-19 tests. (WTAQ/Casey Nelson)
Both local officials were swabbed as the testing site opened Monday morning. It was Streckenbach’s fourth time being tested – and Genrich’s second. They both emphasized the importance of having such a site available in the community.
“Given the fact that we have positivity rates that are really through the roof in comparison to many other parts of the country, I think it’s really important that we have this public health resource available,” Genrich told WTAQ News.
“I think this is a big step for the nation. I’m glad to hear that Brown County, through the university, we are a test site for something that will be a larger, expanded resource available to the rest of United States,” Streckenbach added. “If this truly plays out to be an answer in terms of having our economy open, our schools back, and we’re able to do this rapid testing – let’s get this ramped up, let’s get this test kit manufactured in the millions…We really need to get our economy and our schools back. So if this is an answer to that, then let’s get it done.”
The process is fairly simple, albeit somewhat uncomfortable for a few moments while taking the test. Anyone who wants to get tested should sign up online ahead of time. Once registered, you;ll get a sheet of paper that you bring that has a a number on it that you bring to the testing site. Workers on site will take that number and provide you with a test kit, meaning it will be a self-administered test.
“Watch the video prior to coming out and getting the test. When they use the swab, make sure they get it up three-quarters of the way, just to the point where it feels a little uncomfortable, and then make sure they swab,” Streckenbach explained. “While it’s great that we have this because it’s rapid and we get the results right away, there’s going to be a small chance that all the people who are self-administering it won’t have exactly the results that may have if it had been done by a health professional.”
Workers at the site recommended rotating the swab at least 4-5 times at that depth to ensure that enough mucus and other data would be obtained.
The rapid testing also provides a baseline test across the community to understand just how bad the spread is – and encourages more widespread testing.
“The fastest way out of this is to just do massive testing and get everybody isolated that has it, and be able to start over to hopefully bring spread down,” Alexander said.
“People who participated in our elections, either through voting or if they were helping out as poll workers, I really would encourage those people to come out here and get tested. Any kind of social exposure is a risk these days, and this is a great way to get a handle on what that risk looks like,” Genrich added.
Everyone at the site continued to remind residents to socially distance and wear masks – as even people receiving negative tests could become exposed moments after getting their results.
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