The community coronavirus testing event held at First Baptist Church in California earlier this month resulted in just one positive test, according to information shared by the Moniteau County Health Department on social media last week.
The positive test was not a new positive case in Moniteau County, according to the post. However, the Health Center conformed two additional active case of COVID-19 in Moniteau County onTuesday afternoon, unrelated to the testing event. The Health Center noted individuals can no longer have symptoms of an illness like COVID-19 but continue to test positive for several weeks or more.
The testing event, facilitated by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) and assisted by the Missouri National Guard, took place June 19-20 and had the capacity to test up to 500 people. In total, 160 individuals requested to be tested by PCR, or nasal swab, for COVID-19.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the period of infectiousness for COVID-19 is still unknown. Based on existing literature, the incubation period - or the time from exposure to COVID-19 to development of symptoms - ranges from two to 14 days.
The Health Center encouraged adhering to proper social distancing guidelines and wearing a face mask when social distancing is not possible.
The next round of community testing in the Mid-Missouri area will be July 7-9 in Jefferson City at the Cole County Health Department's former location on Industrial Drive, with testing taking place each day from 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Future free testing events can be found at health.mo.gov/communitytest.