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COVID-19 testing to ramp up in Wisconsin, firefighters could help administer tests

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Governor Tony Evers says Wisconsin will increase COVID-19 testing this week. The governor says he wants the Badger State to be one of the top states in per capita testing. Health officials said that the current testing capacity put the state in a good position for that.

“We currently have 51 labs in our state with a daily capacity of 11.347 tests” said state Department of Health Services Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm.

Palm said with help the state can get to its desired 12,000 tests a day and 85,000 per week. “The national guard and local health departments will continue to stand up testing sites around Wisconsin,” Palm said during a Monday press call.
The local municipal health departments would be overseeing the sites. Some will be clinics while others could be drive up testing according to the state.

In Milwaukee the city’s fire department has stepped to help. The department telling TMJ4 News that a lot of their members are uniquely qualified with medical training. The MFD personnel would be used to help boost up capacity at testing sites and even inside some of the long term care facilities the state plans to test first.

The state reports nearly 90,000 COVID-19 tests have been administered since the beginning of the pandemic.

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