Wisconsin National Guard continues COVID-19 testing throughout the state
MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin National Guard specimen collection teams continue supporting local COVID-19 testing efforts this week as they operate a number of regional community-based testing sites.
Teams have collected a cumulative total of over one million specimens since April 2020 at community-based testing sites and institutional-based testing missions. The Wisconsin National Guard’s collection activities support the Wisconsin Department of Health Service’s efforts to expand COVID-19 testing throughout the entire state.
The teams, which are tailorable to meet the needs of a specific facility or community, are dispatched from a larger task force of several hundred Citizen Soldiers and Airmen. They have established mobile testing sites since April 2020 at locations ranging from correctional facilities, health clinics and institutional facilities, to private businesses, senior-living facilities, and community-based testing sites.
Most community-based testing sites across the state are conducted on a regularly scheduled basis at the request of local health departments. Testing is conducted at a variety of facilities and extreme cold temperatures may impact some testing sites to the point where a local health department may close its site. All visitors seeking a test are urged to contact their local health department for more information about a particular testing day.
Those seeking a test at a Wisconsin National Guard community-based specimen collection site are urged to register online in advance using the Dynamics Testing and Registration Application (DTRA) program, which is also known as COVID Connect.
After collecting the specimens at each site, the test kits are sent to a lab for analysis, and individual citizens receive their results via an email or a phone call within three-to-seven days following the test.
Wisconsin National Guard specimen collection sites operating the week of Mar. 1-7 along with cumulative testing site totals since late December are listed below. Additional information on these testing sites and others is available at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services website.
• Adams County: A team conducts a community-based testing site each Monday through Mar. 8 at the Adams County Highway Department in Adams and has collected over 300 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Barron County: A team conducts a community-based testing site each Tuesday through Mar. 9 at the Barron Fire Department building and has gathered over 500 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Bayfield County: A community-based testing site operates at the Iron River Community Center Mar. 5 and has gathered nearly 370 specimens as of Mar. 1. The Red Cliff Nation hosts a community-based testing site Mar. 6 and has collected over 75 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Brown County: A team collects specimens on a regularly scheduled basis at the Brown County Youth Detention Center and at a Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs facility in Green Bay.
• Burnett County: The St. Croix Tribe of Ojibwe hosts a community-based testing site Mar. 5 and has collected over 300 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Chippewa County: A community-based specimen collection site operates Mar. 3 in Chippewa Falls. A team also collects specimens regularly at a Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs facility in Chippewa Falls.
• Columbia County: A community-based testing site operates Mar. 2 in Columbus and has collected nearly 100 specimens as of Mar. 1. A community-based testing site operated in Cambria Dec. 18 to Feb. 26 and collected nearly 200 specimens.
• Crawford County: Prairie du Chien hosts a community-based specimen collection site Mar. 9 and has gathered over 30 specimens as of Mar. 1. Gays Mills hosted a community-based testing site that gathered over 20 specimens between Jan. 19 and Feb. 23.
• Dane County: A team collected nearly 270 specimens Feb. 23 at the Oak Hill Correctional Institution.
• Dodge County: A community-based testing site operates each Monday and Wednesday in Beaver Dam through Mar. 10 and has collected over 3,800 specimens as of Mar. 1. A team collected over 150 specimens Feb. 26 at the John Burke Correctional Institution.
• Dunn County: A community-based testing site operates Mar. 9 in Menominee and has gathered nearly 70 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Eau Claire County: A regional community-based testing in Eau Claire operates each Monday, Friday and Saturday through Mar. 8 and has collected nearly 1,300 specimens as of Mar. 1. A second site in Augusta operates each Wednesday through Mar. 10 and has collected over 230 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Florence County: Florence hosts a community-based testing site Mar. 5 and has gathered nearly 50 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Fond du Lac County: A team operates a community-based testing site each Thursday through Mar. 4 at the Fond du Lac County Fairgrounds and had gathered over 1,500 specimens as of Mar. 1. A team gathers specimens Mar. 2 at the Taycheedah Correctional Institution.
• Grant County: Lancaster hosts a community-based testing site each Tuesday through Mar. 9 and has gathered over 700 specimens as of Mar. 1. A second site operates in Platteville each Friday through Mar. 5 and has gathered nearly 400 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Iron County: Hurley hosts a community-based testing site Mar. 9 and has collected over 70 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Jackson County: One team operates a community-based testing site each Wednesday through Mar. 10 in Black River Falls and has gathered nearly 450 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Jefferson County: One team conducts a community-based testing site each Friday and Saturday through Mar. 6 at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Jefferson and has collected over 1,850 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Juneau County: Mauston hosts a community-based testing site each Thursday through Mar. 4 and has gathered nearly 500 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• La Crosse County: La Crosse hosts a community-based testing site each Monday through Mar. 8 and has gathered over 1,700 specimens as of Mar. 1. West Salem operates a second community-based site each Saturday through Mar. 6 and had collected over 550 specimens as of Mar. 1. A third site operates at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation in La Crosse each Friday through Mar. 5 and has gathered over 650 specimens as of Mar. 1. Holmen hosts a fourth site each Wednesday through Mar. 10 and has gathered over 1,330 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Langlade County: Antigo hosted a community-based testing site Dec. 18 to Feb. 26 and gathered nearly 100 specimens.
• Lincoln County: A community-based testing site operates each Wednesday through Mar. 10 at the Merrill Festival Grounds in Merrill and had gathered over 330 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Manitowoc County: A team conducts a community-based testing site Feb. 23 and Mar. 9 at the Manitowoc County Expo Center and has collected over 500 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Menominee County: A team operates a community-based testing site Mar. 2 in Keshena and has collected over 525 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Milwaukee County: A Wisconsin National Guard specimen collection team operates a community-based testing site in South Milwaukee at 1525 Tenth Ave. The site is open each Tuesday, Friday and Saturday through Mar. 9 and has gathered nearly 7,300 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Monroe County: The Monroe County Highway Department in Tomah hosts a community-based specimen collection site Mar. 4 and had collected over 200 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Oconto County: Mountain hosts a community-based testing site Mar. 2 and has gathered 330 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Oneida County: A community-based testing site operates each Tuesday through Mar. 9 in Rhinelander and has gathered over 1,300 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Outagamie County: A team conducts a community-based specimen collection site each Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday through Mar. 10 in Appleton and has collected over 2,200 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Pierce County: A team operates a community-based specimen collection site in Ellsworth Mar. 1 and Mar. 8 and has gathered nearly 650 specimens as of Mar. 1. A team collected nearly 20 specimens Feb. 24 at a long-term care facility in Elmwood.
• Portage County: Stevens Point hosts a community-based testing site each Monday through Mar. 8 and has collected nearly 220 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Racine County: A community-based testing site operates at the Racine County Fairgrounds in Union Grove each Wednesday through Mar. 10 and has gathered nearly 800 specimens As of Mar. 1. A second site operates at Festival Hall in Racine each Thursday through Mar. 4 and has collected over 1,000 specimens As of Mar. 1. A team collects specimens on a regularly scheduled basis at a Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs facility in Union Grove. A team gathered over 250 specimens Feb. 22 at the Racine Youthful Offender Correctional Facility.
• Rock County: A team conducts a community-based specimen collection site each Wednesday and Thursday through Mar. 10 at Blackhawk Technical College and has gathered over 2,000 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Richland County: A team operates a community-based testing site each Thursday through Mar. 10 at the Richland County Fairgrounds and has collected over 230 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Sawyer County: A team conducts a community-based testing site each Wednesday through Mar. 10 at the fire hall in Winter and has collected 330 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Shawano County: A team operates a community-based site for the Stockbridge-Munsee Nation in Bowler Feb. 23-24 and Mar. 9-10 and has collected nearly 1,700 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Sheboygan County: A team conducts a community-based testing site each Wednesday through Mar. 10 in Sheboygan and has gathered over 1,300 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Taylor County: A team conducts a community-based testing site Mar. 5 in Medford and had collected over 225 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Trempealeau County: Independence hosted a community-based testing site Dec. 18 to Feb. 26 and collected nearly 125 specimens.
• Vernon County: A team operates a community-based testing site Feb. 23 and Mar. 9 in Viroqua and has gathered over 550 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Walworth County: A team conducts a community-based testing site each Tuesday between Dec. 15 and Mar. 9 at the Walworth County Fairgrounds and had collected over 1,500 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Waukesha County: One team operates a community-based testing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Waukesha County Expo Center between Dec. 14 and Mar. 10 and has gathered over 4,300 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Waupaca County: A team operates a community-based testing site each Wednesday through Mar. 10 at the Waupaca County Fairgrounds and has collected nearly 700 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Winnebago County: One team operates a community-based testing site Tuesday through Friday through Mar. 10 at the Sunnyview Expo Center in Oshkosh and has gathered nearly 6,000 specimens as of Mar. 1.
• Wood County: A team operates a community-based testing site each Wednesday through Mar. 10 in Wisconsin Rapids and has collected nearly 250 specimens as of Mar. 1.
As of Mar. 1, Wisconsin National Guard teams have collected 1,040,266 specimens statewide.
Approximately 20 troops since late December are assisting the Wisconsin Department of Health Services with managing COVID-19 vaccine inventory at undisclosed sites across the state. The Wisconsin National Guard since Jan. 19 also supports the state’s vaccination efforts by providing mobile vaccination teams to local health departments who request assistance. These teams have assisted in administering 24,591 vaccines as of Mar. 1.
The Wisconsin National Guard experienced an unprecedented year in 2020 of assisting Wisconsin residents and supporting local officials respond to COVID-19, election worker support and civil disturbance support operations.
Nearly 600 Citizen Soldiers and Airmen from the Wisconsin National Guard are currently serving in direct support of the state’s on-going response to COVID-19 in a variety of statuses.
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