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Once again for the people in the back: Gaming the system will not work

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Illinois

* We’ve gone from “we’re testing too many people” to “we’re gonna game the system by testing more people.” Both are false claims. DeWitt/Piatt Bi-County Health Department Director Dave Remmert…

This weekend’s mobile COVID testing site should help DeWitt County increase testing and allow the County to come off the Governor’s COVID warning list.

* Fox 55…

Public Health Administrators in Region 6 are talking about possible mitigation and taking action to reduce the test positivity rate with additional testing sites.

* Once again, I asked for a response from the governor’s office. Here’s Jordan Abudayyeh…

This administration has worked around the clock to build one of the best testing programs in the nation. The goal has always been frequent mass testing, because as the experts have said, frequent testing will be able to identify symptomatic and asymptomatic carriers so they can isolate before spreading the virus for days undetected.

Testing a large population does not necessarily lead to lower positivity rates because more testing often means you will also identify more positive results.

But, testing regularly is an effective tool for identifying cases and preventing further spread and testing in communities with higher rates of skeptics is a good practice because residents who aren’t following public health guidelines are at higher risk of contracting the virus.

Officials tasked with the responsibility to keep their residents safe should not be attempting to game the system, instead they should be focused on identifying cases, ensuring enforcement of public health orders, and educating their communities on best public health practices.

UIUC is testing the same people over and over again. That’s what is causing the county’s positivity rate to look so low. But, the governor’s office says those results are not used to make any official decisions, either at the statewide or regional levels. So, if other counties somehow replicated UIUC’s system, it wouldn’t matter.

posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:02 pm

Comments

When you test more all that is going to happen is you are going to find everyone who is asymptomatic. I don’t think it would be that much higher than today but it for sure won’t be much lower.

Comment by Publius Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:08 pm
Increasing testing to lower the positivity rate is one of those too smart by half kind of things.

Comment by PublicServant Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:08 pm
To be fair, it’s harder to get a test in many of the downstate regions than it is in Chicago and the suburbs. Encouraging people (even if asymptomatic) to get tested if they are actively engaging with other people doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me.

Comment by Chicagonk Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:14 pm
===Encouraging people (even if asymptomatic) to get tested if they are actively engaging with other people doesn’t seem like a bad idea to me===

It’s a great idea (exclamation point)

Telling people they should get tested to game the system, however, is a stupid and dangerous idea.

We seriously need to rethink this entire county-level public health system.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:18 pm
Apparently the administration does not know how population sampling works. If we only test those that present with symptoms, then we are likely to get a high positivity rate. If we increase the amount of tests administered, and broaden who we are testing (i.e. anyone who wants a test) then you are more apt to have both higher case #s and lower positivity rates. Either way the population being tested is not random. Outside of those who are tested because it’s required (pre-surgical workups, long term care residents, etc), the tests are being administered to people who self-selected themself for testing.

Comment by T C Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:19 pm
The response from the Dewitt County Health department is further cementing my lack of respect for rural parts of IL.

Positivity rate is a good way to get a handle on how much the virus is spreading throughout the public.

Increasing testing isn’t going to change the positivity rate. It’s going to find all the infected people that the testing positivity rate is already showing are out there.

That guy in Dewitt should immediately resign for demonstrating such a lack of knowledge regarding the office he holds and the department he is in charge of.

When do these false claims coming from officials cause someone to lose their job. Because this is a depressing statement on the quality of the Dewitt county health department. This is public health, it’s not political. Treating is as political, or demonstrating a lack of knowledge like this, should be grounds for immediate removal.

Comment by TheInvisibleMan Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:20 pm
===That guy in Dewitt should immediately resign for demonstrating such a lack of knowledge===

Same guy said back in March or April that people should just live their normal lives.

Again, we need a rethink of this system.

Comment by Rich Miller Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:22 pm
There is only one permanent testing location in DeWitt County, and the only way you can get a test there is with a doctor’s order.

Comment by Somewhere Downstate Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:23 pm
=== We seriously need to rethink this entire county-level public health system. ===

Are there any Rep. Bailey friends and family in the Clay County Health Department? Asking for a friend.

Comment by PublicServant Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 2:24 pm
WHO says that high positivity rate indicates need for more random testing and / or too many people have disease. They way IL is doing it, it is more of the former and less than the latter.

Pritzker is Polling those going to a gas station and concerned that too many people are low on gas.

Comment by In reality Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 3:33 pm
As long as the county health departments are controlled by the county boards nothing will change. County boards appoint the boards of health and control budgets. COVID isn’t the first time this system had failed us.

Comment by Don't Bloc Me In Friday, Oct 9, 20 @ 4:14 pm