Nebraska National Guard Tests 89 people for COVID-19 in York

Nebraska National Guard Tests 89 people for COVID-19 in York
KTMX/KAWL Photo
April 24th, 2020 | Amanda Mendoza

This is the first time the Four Corners Health Department was able to provide mass testing.

With the help of state and local health officials, the Nebraska National Guard tested 89 people that were pre-identified by the Four Corners Health Department. For several days ahead of the event, staff worked with medical providers, businesses, and others to schedule higher risk individuals. The priorities for this event were close contacts of those who have a positive COVID-19 test, those who had symptoms and hadn’t been tested yet, and individuals who employers felt needed to be tested.

“This mass testing event was offered to us through the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. They asked me if I wanted to do some mass testing and my team gave a resounding “Yes!”, said Executive Director, Laura McDougall. “We want to get a better picture of the level of COVID-19 within our communities, which hopefully can be provided by the expanded testing,” she said.

The results from the event in York were received on Friday, April 24th . Of the 89 individuals tested, there was one positive case identified. This case is a male from Seward Co. in his 50’s, with a known contact to another positive case. He is self-isolating at home.

McDougall stated that “our team felt very positive about the outcomes of the event. It was rewarding to see that the extra precautions and social distancing being done in the district has been paying off. None of us expected the number of positives to be so low, and it was a great way to end our week.”

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the Four Corners District is 21.  York County has 9, Seward County 6 (including one death), Polk County 5, and Butler County remains at 1.  Total recoveries number 11.

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