From 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Thursday, December 3, Chaffee County Public Health (CCPH) and the Salida School District are partnering to offer a COVID-19 testing clinic at the Chaffee County Fairgrounds for any school-aged family who traveled for Thanksgiving, saw people outside of their household, are symptomatic or participated in any other activates that puts them at risk. The clinic is being held as a step toward successfully resuming in-person learning on December 7.
Those interested in testing must sign up by 8 a.m. on December 3. If you miss the deadline, CCPH also offers regular testing on Friday, December 4. Each person being tested needs their own individual appointment. The clinic will be held at the Fairgrounds, not the Touber building. Those getting tests are asked to enter the main entrance and follow the directional signage. Wear a mask and remain in your vehicle.
The Chaffee County Fairgrounds Main Building. Photo by Dan Smith
Families should isolate themselves from others until they receive their test results. Results will arrive via text or email from the testing company typically within 72 hours. Results should be in by Monday, December 7. If results are not received by Monday, the District asks students to stay home until they receive their results. No eating, drinking (this includes water), smoking, vaping or chewing gum 20 minutes prior to your appointment.
If you are currently on quarantine because of a previous exposure, a negative test does not release you from quarantine any earlier. Those with previous known exposures are reminded it is best to test seven days after the exposure of when symptoms started.
In a note to parents, Superintendent Blackburn explained “If you are feeling symptomatic or travelled or realize you took risks this break, please consider participating in this testing event. We are trying to avoid any unnecessary exposures and quarantines on staff and families. Thank you to our local public health for responding to our request for this special event.”
If you would like to make an appointment, click here. Appointments are on a first-come, first-serve basis. Below is a short video on how the samples will be collected. Adults and older children will collect their own samples while adults will collect younger children samples.
https://youtu.be/5pS-dPpy7J8
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