Plans set to accelerate COVID-19 testing

Plans are underway to accelerate COVID-19 testing in Wisconsin this week, Gov. Tony Evers said Monday.

Evers’ administration set a goal of completing 85,000 tests a week. That’s around 12,000 a day.

The plans, per a statement, include:

• The National Guard will deploy rapid-response teams that will collect specimens for COVID-19 testing in hot spots and underserved areas. One of those teams deployed this weekend to test inmates and staff at the Milwaukee County House of Correction. Starting Monday, two teams will staff specimen collection sites at Milwaukee Health Services Inc.
• The state will deliver 1,000 tests a week to tribal health clinics.
• Exact Sciences plans to provide the lab capacity and supplies to process 20,000 tests a week. Spokesman Scott Larrivee said they accomplished work that would normally take months or years in weeks, including developing and validating a test, getting emergency federal authorization and adapting laboratory platforms for testing. “We are now able to process COVID-19 tests at a large scale,” he said in a statement. Exact Sciences is working with community health centers in Milwaukee. Epic is helping connect providers to Exact Sciences and ensure fast test processing. Promega is sourcing high demand reagents and materials for the labs.
  Marshfield Clinic Health System is ramping up to process 10,000 tests per week from providers around the state.
• The Wisconsin Diagnostic Labs are providing support to a drive-thru testing project at Sixteen Street Community Health Centers.
• Wisconsin will receive more than 250,000 additional test collection supplies in the coming weeks.
• DHS is sending 2,200 test collection supplies and personal protective equipment to Green Bay to deal with an outbreak there.

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