UW-Platteville Expands COVID-19 Testing to Community

University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville, WI (November 6, 2020) - In collaboration with the Centers for Disease Controls and Prevention and the University of Wisconsin System, UW-Platteville is opening an additional COVID-19 testing site on the main campus as well as testing sites on the branch campuses, following a new surge testing initiative announced Wednesday afternoon by the UW System to support communities throughout Wisconsin now facing dramatic increases of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations related to the ongoing outbreak.

Days and places:

• Bo Ryan Court in Williams Fieldhouse on the main UW-Platteville campus is the site of the tests, which will feature free testing for students, faculty/staff and community members four days per week. Please note: Testing begins Monday, Nov. 9.
• In addition, Wednesdays will be reserved for testing at UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County and UW-Platteville Richland at places to be determined.

Test times are as follows:

UW-Platteville 

• Monday 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Bo Ryan Court, Williams Fieldhouse
• Tuesday, Thursday, noon to 8 p.m., Bo Ryan Court, Williams Fieldhouse
• Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Bo Ryan Court, Williams Fieldhouse

UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County

• Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Brown Theatre, Fine Arts Building

UW-Platteville Richland

• Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Classroom Building

Bo Ryan Court details:

• Enter through the North Lobby (closest to the Markee Pioneer Student Center). Those coming to be tested should NOT enter through the main lobby doors or the back doors by the Health and Human Performance offices. Signs will direct people to the correct doors.
• If you do not have a valid UW-Platteville parking permit, park in Lot 9, between the fieldhouse and the student center. Parking will be enforced in all other lots.

10,000 more tests at UW-Platteville:

• The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is partnering with the UW System and its 13 universities to provide free antigen testing to the community at-large, while expanding testing to all UW employees and their dependents ages 5 and older. There will be 250,000 tests available, including 10,000 to UW-Platteville over a six-week span that is scheduled to begin Monday, Nov. 9.
• UW-Platteville and the rest of the UW System will be using Abbott BinaxNOW antigen tests that provide a result in about 15 minutes. The federal government purchased Abbott BinaxNOW diagnostic tests on August 27 to ensure equitable distribution of the first 150 million units, one day after an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) was issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 
• The UW System universities will be the first testing sites using the BinaxNOW, which are self-administered tests.  Anyone who has a positive antigen test will then be administered a PCR test to confirm or deny the positive reading. PCR Tests are distributed by the federal government and allocated by the state Department of Health Services will be used as a confirmatory test in line with Department of Health Services existing protocol. 

Cases in Wisconsin surging:

• Wisconsin reported a record 5,935 new cases of COVID-19 along with 54 deaths attributed to the coronavirus on Wednesday. The state is the fourth-worst in the country for daily new cases per capita, according to Johns Hopkins University research. The new testing site will help identify more symptomatic and asymptomatic cases in an effort to isolate those carrying the virus and mitigate the spread.

Who should test at this site:

• UW-Platteville strongly encourages each employee to get tested once each week through this mechanism (or a similar site if working remotely).
• Branch campus students should visit the testing sites on Wednesdays.
• Platteville, Baraboo, Richland Center and surrounding community members are encouraged to register for the free testing.
• UW-Platteville main campus students should continue to use the testing site at Hugunin Hall.

How to register:

• People who are seeking to be tested should register online for the free test at https://www.doineedacovid19test.com/. Participants will also use the site to obtain results. 
• Main campus students should still use the testing center in Hugunin Hall. Students should register for those free tests at https://uwplatt.vivi.healthcare/ Although walk-ins are welcome, registration is encouraged to ensure testing is done on the sought-after days and times. The university recommends students are tested at least once every two weeks.

For more information:

Follow the university COVID-19 updates at https://www.uwplatt.edu/news/update-coronavirus