Repeat Testers:

People taking multiple tests skewing the total number of COVID-19 cases

The tally of positive COVID-19 cases in Yuma County is skewed because some people who test positive are repeatedly taking tests. Some employers won’t take workers back until they can show that they’re negative. The problem is that these people are being counted as different cases each time they take a test because of the way the system is set up.

For this reason, Yuma County Public Health Services Director Diana Gomez discourages people who tested positive from taking more than one test and just waiting until the symptoms are gone before going out.

On Saturday, the county reported 41,956 tests, 8,148 positive cases, and 139 deaths.

Supervisor Russell McCloud, during a June 22 meeting, asked whether a person who is tested more than once is counted as an additional case, or if the system identifies the person as a repeat tester.

Gomez explained that the number reported by the county is for tests administered, not the number of individuals who have taken the test. Consequently, if a person takes more than one test, the additional tests are added to the count, and if positive, as another positive case.

“That’s why it’s really important that you follow the (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) criteria. It is possible that if I get tested today and I go back 10 days later, I will test positive again, and I can go back a few days later and test positive again,” Gomez said.

It’s possible to test positive for more than 10 days. It takes 2-5 days to show symptoms and most symptoms improve after a 10-day period.

“That’s why we tell people it’s not necessary, please don’t go back to get a second test. Look at your symptoms because if you’re

still having a cough, you still have the virus in your system, and you’ll still be able to transmit it,” she noted.

If someone tests positive, they need to isolate themselves for at least 10 days and 72 hours after symptoms, including cough and shortness of breath, have subsided. Even beyond that 10-day period, if someone still has symptoms, they need to stay home.

“Don’t go back to work,” Gomez stressed.

If someone took a test and they are symptomatic, they should stay home as they wait for the results. If someone in the same home tested positive, the CDC recommends they quarantine for 14 days after the last exposure to that person.

“That 14-day window is because you can be asymptomatic, meaning not showing any symptoms but still have the ability to transmit the disease,” Gomez ex- some people don’t use the plained. “So when we tell same information for fear you to self-isolate if you that they might not get retested. have symptoms, that’s for people that already know McCloud asked if she had they are sick. We’re asking any idea how many people you to stay away from have taken multiple tests. people for that period. Selfquarantine Gomez said she would not is for people be able to give an estimate. that may not know they Reyes noted that people are sick, but they were exposed are getting tested multiple but have the ability times because they can. to transmit the disease.” “We’re doing testing in vehicles.

McCloud asked if there This morning before is a way to identify people I left San Luis, the line was who test multiple times. Gomez half a mile long. People are noted that if a healthcare getting tested two times provider administered a week or every week because the test, they would know. they can do that, and The difficulty is with blitz that’s creating a lot of problems,” testing, where large numbers he said. of people are tested. Supervisor Martin Porchas

Providers are required asked if a person is to notify the county, but supposed to self-isolate and for blitz testing, health not work while waiting for workers might go through results. He noted that in thousands of test results a some situations, the employer day and right now they can sends a worker to only identify positives and be tested and will pay the negatives, Gomez said. worker while they wait for

They would need to go the results, but in some cases, back and match records to people go on their own catch those multiple testers. and then they decide to stay Multiple testers could home until they get their be matched by the name results, but the employer and address, however, does not pay them for the time out of work.

Whether a person should self-isolate while waiting for results “depends on the perceived threat,” Gomez said. If a person has symptoms or has been exposed to someone with the virus for a prolonged period of time, “or someone coughed on you that you know is infected,” in these cases, testing and self-isolating is recommended.

However, if a person’s spouse works with someone who tested positive but did not have significant exposure to that infected person he or she doesn’t need to get tested. Gomez called this “two times removed” vs. “I interacted with you and had lunch and you tested positive, then I should self-isolate.”

Reyes suggested that a person who has symptoms should take an individualized test, not a drive-thru test, so they can get a letter from the clinic “that they can use to justify not going to work, but if they don’t have that, then you’re faced with a situation where the employer can tell you, hey, if you don’t come to work, you don’t get paid. But if they have a document that directs a person to isolate, they may have a different situation,” he said.

Gomez said she understands people’s frustration. “It’s exhausting. People have to make a choice, and they have to work. It’s tricky. From the contact tracing, we hear those stories.”

Reyes said he pays attention to the total number of people hospitalized, rather than the total number of cases. His concern is whether the hospital is able to handle the load.

“Wearing the mask, that’s why you do that, not to overwhelm that system,” Gomez said. “Really, there’s no age, it’s an underlying condition, it’s about your immune system’s ability to respond. If there’s anything we’ve learned about this virus is that it’s unpredictable, and we’re learning something every day … The goal is to be able to ensure that our healthcare system can respond appropriately.”