Law Enforcement COVID-19 Testing Guidance

Updated 08/3/20, 10 p.m.

Important Contacts

Personal Protective Equipment

https://www.sedgwickcounty.org/emergency-management/ppe-resource-request/

Submit the completed form to logistics@sedgwick.gov.

 

N95 Decontamination

(316) 660-1190

emdo@sedgwick.gov

Sedgwick County Disease Reporting Hotline

316-660-5555

DiseaseReport@sedgwick.gov

 

No cost COVID-19 testing for law enforcement, with or without symptoms

Dial (316) 660-1022, Sedgwick County Health Department

Report that you work in law enforcement.

 

 COVID-19 Testing for Law Enforcement

Due to increased testing supplies and the capacity to sample more residents, the Sedgwick County Health Department is expanding the criteria for COVID-19 testing which will assist in tracking and controlling the spread of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

 The expanded criteria include workers who aid and treat people who are sick or who work in group living situations. These front-line workers, who will be tested with or without symptoms, include:

Guidance:

  1. To receive a no cost test, dial (316) 660-1022, Sedgwick County Health Department (SCHD) and tell the SCHD call center you work in law enforcement.   
  2. A Sedgwick County Health Department staff member will ask you questions and make an appointment for you at the drive-through clinic, 620 North Edgemoor, Wichita. Sampling for COVID-19 testing is performed Monday through Friday mornings by appointment only. Sampling and testing are offered at no cost.
    1. If you have symptoms, do not go to work until test results are returned.
    2. Always practice good hygiene and social distancing. Stay away from others while sick.

     3. After sampling, Sedgwick County Health Department staff will contact you with your results within one week.

  1. Law enforcement should be tested:
  1. Patient samples obtained by the Health Department are for a molecular virus test that detects coronavirus particles in a person’s body. This is not an antibody test that tests for immunity.
    1. People with no symptoms could test negative or positive. They could not be infected (negative test), be infected without symptoms (positive test), or have a virus level too low for the test to detect (false negative test).
    2. The virus test is for a point in time. A person can be negative on one day but a later test may be positive.  
  1. If an exposure to a confirmed COVID case occurs, law enforcement workers are in quarantine for 14 days from last exposure to a COVID-19 case. They are tested by their healthcare provider or by dialing (316) 660-1022 and stating they are a contact of a COVID-19 case.
    1. Healthcare, public health, and law enforcement workers may work during quarantine if asymptomatic as long as appropriate PPE and other precautions are taken.
      • If asymptomatic and working, testing should be done every seven days (weekly). Employees must monitor for symptoms twice per day, even if testing is negative. Quarantine continues for 14 days even if testing is negative.
      • If symptoms develop, the employee cannot be at work and must be tested.
    2. If an employee does not work, they should be tested seven days after exposure to increase the likelihood of the test detecting the virus if the person is infected. During quarantine, a person who tests negative must still remain in quarantine for 14 days from last exposure to a COVID-19 case. 
  1. Symptoms of COVID-19 can include one or more of the following: fever, cough, recent decrease in the ability to breathe, upper respiratory symptoms (congestions, runny nose), chills or shivering, tiredness, muscle or body aches, headache, sore throat, sudden loss of smell or taste, diarrhea without a known cause.
    • COVID-19 symptoms are a new symptom or an increase in severity of something that a person normally experiences.
    • COVID-19 should be considered when a person experiences these symptoms outside of their normal. For example, a person who has allergies with a runny nose every spring would not consider a runny nose a COVID-19 symptom without any other outside-of-normal symptoms. 
  1. Be aware that older adults can show atypical COVID-19 symptoms. It is important to recognize any symptoms that could indicate coronavirus infection and to test right away.
    • Older adults infected with coronavirus may not have fever.
    • They may display headache, diarrhea, loss of smell and/or taste, confusion, sore throat, or runny nose.
    • Respiratory symptoms, if they occur, may be delayed.