Entering its third week of operation, Summit County’s rapid-testing Covid program, offered to all local small businesses, is still busy.
The program is being offered in conjunction with the People’s Health Clinic, Park City Municipal, and the Park City Chamber/Bureau.
In a recent KPCW interview, Deputy County Health Director Phil Bondurant reminded us that for local employees who have been exposed to Covid, a new guideline set by then-Governor Gary Herbert offers a modified quarantine period. Employees can return to work after 7 days, if they are asymptomatic and if they have a negative result on a test offered at the People’s Health Clinic.
Bondurant said employees who want the test can call the hot line number, 435-333-1546. They will be asked to verbally fill out a questionnaire to see if they qualify.
“Why we have people call ahead of time is so that, if for some reason there’s things that are different with the situation, because we can imagine every situation is different, we want to make sure we get people at that seven-day mark, we get them an appointment, and we don’t overwhelm the staff at People’s Health Clinic with individuals just showing up for a test without that appointment so that we can keep it controlled, and make sure that everybody has access to this program.”
He said they find “exposed’ employees by investigating those who have tested positive.
“As part of the contact tracing, individuals are identified who have been in close contact. Now, that can change based on the situation in the workplace. Obviously, it’s going to be different on a construction site outdoors, vs. an office setting, where people may share space in cubicles. So that’s one of the reasons that the community health workers and the case investigators and contact tracers need names of contacts so that we can work through, identify who’s exposed, and then help them get back to work after that seven-day period using this program.”
He said the People’s Health Clinic is open for the tests Monday to Friday, 8 to 11:30 a.m. The tests take only 15 minutes. After a negative result, you will be given a slip to take back to work. If it’s positive, you will be instructed what to do next.
Unfortunately, there are still unknowns in the pandemic. Bondurant said it’s possible that those who have weathered the virus can still spread it.
“There’s some indications that the shedding occurs well after symptoms have resolved themselves and people are feeling well, or even after the 14-day period. And so if there’s one thing we’ve learned from Covid, it’s that it’s unpredictable and there’s still a lot to be learned about it. So that’s one of the reasons that the isolation, the quarantine, those things, as difficult as they are, are important until the vaccine roll-out reaches greater capacity and we’re farther into the general population.”
He said the testing program is using Veritor, which has a rate of accuracy up to 84 percent.
The funding to provide medical professionals for the testing comes from the Park City Chamber/Bureau and Park City Municipal. Chamber/Bureau President Jennifer Wesselhoff said in their first week, they tested 88 employees. Twelve were positive.
Bondurant said they’re booked several days ahead, but they haven’t turned down any exposed person who wants a test.
