MONROE — As of Thursday, March 19, 27 people in Green County had been tested for the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

Of the 27 tested for COVID-19, eight tests returned negative and the rest were still pending, said Green County Health Department Director RoAnn Warden. 

Testing in the county began March 11, but no one locally has test kits.

“Right now we don’t have any local labs doing the testing,” Warden said. 

Medical providers swab the back of a patient’s nose, then send the sample to labs elsewhere in the state or out-of-state. This method of collecting a sample, called a nasopharyngeal swab, is a common way to detect respiratory viral infections.

Tests are being processed according to risk level, with tests from people in the lowest tier of risk taking seven to 10 days, Warden said.

Medical providers assess for risk, including where the person has traveled and whether they’ve had direct contact with an infected person.

“There’s lots of moving pieces” that a provider uses to determine risk, she said.

“When it comes to the testing, we want individuals if they are having a fever, cough, shortness of breath and are concerned about COVID-19 infection to call their doctor to be screened to see if testing is appropriate,” Warden said. 

“We’re not encouraging people who have a cold to get a test. We’re really trying to limit testing to those who most need it. And those determinations are being made by clinicians.”

The rise of the coronavirus pandemic is coinciding with the worst of flu season locally.

“We’ve just hit our peak levels for flu activity in our county,” Warden said. For anyone who has not yet gotten a flu vaccine this year, she recommends getting vaccinated.

A vaccine for COVID-19 has not yet been developed.

“We want people to practice social distancing right now, that’s the main message, and to follow the governor’s orders in regards to not congregating more than 10 people,” Warden said.

She said she’s heard of employers requiring employees to get tested for COVID-19 before allowing them to return to work. But this is not what public health officials are recommending.

Testing is only recommended for those who are symptomatic and deemed by their clinician to be high risk or a contact to someone with COVID-19 disease, she said.