If you have been exposed to COVID-19 or have symptoms of the virus, you may be tested in Brown County this week at no cost.
Brown County had its first government-funded COVID-19 check open to the public at the Brown County Music Center last week. It will be open until Saturday, July 25 and will possibly stay longer depending on usage and needs.
The screening clinic is fully funded by the Indiana State Department of Health, said Corey Frost, Brown County’s public fitness emergency preparedness coordinator, meaning no local or county money is spent on the facility.
For this reason, the clinic does not consider who needs to be tested for the virus, and no insurance is required for a test, he said.
The clinic saw more than 400 people who were tested in its first week, Frost said.
The clinic told others to wait two to four days to find their results.
“We didn’t have bottlenecks on the street or court cases about waiting or trafficking,” he said. “Honestly, so far it’s gone pretty well. We had no primary disorder or complications.”
The media clinic is an active infection verification site, Frost said, verification examines whether a patient is lately using the COVID-19 virus.
Instead of an antibody check, which uses a blood pattern to identify an infection beyond, active infection verification requires a nasal pattern to determine whether a user is inflamed with COVID-19.
“This is all we’ve been looking to put in position since the beginning of the pandemic,” Frost said. “I am very pleased that, despite everything, we can offer this to our community.”
The media music clinic serves as a driving service. Patients never have to leave their vehicle during the testing process. Frost and other fitness officials installed symptoms pronouncing the clinic along State Road 46 and blocked much of Maple Leaf Boulevard, the street where the music center is located, with cones telling patients where to go.
There is no formal programming procedure for a test. Instead, Frost stated that the clinic operated on a first-come, first-served basis, and that registration was performed at the facility from the patient’s car.
“The total procedure is pretty quick and simple in my opinion,” he said. “A swab, what we call the other people who carry out the checks, will go into a person’s car, take their data to search it, and then check their nose with a cotton swab. No one’s going to have to get out of a car. “
The check opened on July 14 and remained open until July 18 from nine a.m. to 6 p.m.
The clinic reopened on July 20 and, according to Frost, is likely to remain open to the public until Saturday, July 25. From there, it will depend on the IHSHR and Brown County fitness officials if they wish.
Dr. Norman Oestrike, Brown County’s head of fitness, said at a county commissioners’ meeting on July 15 that the county is negotiating with the state to make the verification site permanent. Oestrike cited the upcoming school year and the suitability of academics as a strong argument for the sustainability of the site.
He added that last year, many academics had symptoms of COVID-19 before the virus officially traveled to the United States.
“It’s a strep angina, flu and cold. The hope is that we can have a COVID control clinic combined with a vaccination clinic to continue this through the school system,” he said.
After the county announced the clinic on July 13, some citizens on social media questioned the need for a control center in Brown County. Others did not know why mandatory screening for those who had no symptoms.
Several medical authorities, such as the Centers for Disease Control, the World Health Organization and university hospitals, have reported that COVID-19 can be transmitted to others through others who have no symptoms.
“If you need to protect others closest to you, especially older people or who have a weakened immune system from the virus, screening is a step to make sure it doesn’t spread,” Frost said.
In addition, many corporations have begun to demand that painters be evaluated to return to paintings after closing, Frost said.
Students who wish to transmit the virus to teachers, teachers, and their peers will also gain benefits from installing the check, he said.
“Some other people have questioned the time to bring this clinic here, however, it’s something we’ve been running on for a long time,” he said. “We are very happy to be able to give other people the opportunity to get tested.”