COVID tests at emergency rooms: Hospitals urge public to avoid
FILE - A healthcare worker prepares a COVID-19 swab test. (Chet Strange/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE - The Wisconsin Hospital Association (WHA) is urging members of the public not to seek COVID-19 tests at hospital emergency rooms.
A news release says emergency rooms throughout the state are under extreme stress due to surging COVID-19 cases as well as regular, seasonal increases in demand for medical services. Patients seeking COVID-19 tests at hospitals not only delay the provision of urgent care in emergency rooms but also raise the risk of virus spread among medically vulnerable patients.
To continue to serve the high volume of patients in Wisconsin hospitals requiring care for strokes, heart attacks, motor vehicle accidents and other ailments, as well as to provide relief to health care workers dedicated to providing the best care to the patients, families and communities they serve, WHA asks that Wisconsinites get the COVID-19 tests they require through the following means, as advised by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS):
- Contact your doctor to ask if your primary care clinic provides testing.
- Seek testing from a free community testing site near you.
- Request a free at home collection kit from DHS.
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Learn more about where to get a COVID-19 test in Wisconsin on the DHS website or by calling 211.
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