Home for the holidays? Lorain County Health & Dentistry expects many to travel

LORAIN — With Christmas just days away, Lorain County Health & Dentistry held a rapid COVID-19 testing event Sunday morning in anticipation of some people travelling to spend the holiday with family outside their household. Although public health officials continue to advise Ohio residents to be careful around Christmas and New Year's by keeping gatherings small and limiting travel, the health center figured it would be wise to not assume everyone is staying home. "It's that time of year, so people want to see their families," said Stephanie Wiersma, CEO of Lorain County Health & Dentistry. "They may not have seen them at Thanksgiving (or) they may be willing to take a chance that since they stayed safe at Thanksgiving, they're going to stay safe at Christmas too even though they decide to see grandma." "But we are urging people not to do that, of course," she added. A team of nurses administered about 400 rapid antigen tests at the new Lorain County Health & Dentistry drive-thru location at 1205 Broadway in Lorain. By 11:40 a.m., at least 35 of those who had their noses swabbed were informed by phone that their results were positive. Those patients then were directed to isolate and register for a PCR test, which is not as fast but requires a laboratory to process and yields more accurate results. Current guidelines classify positive antigen tests as probable COVID-19 cases, while positive PCR tests are labeled as confirmed cases. Judy Cilona, the director of quality management who called patients who tested positive, sympathized with those who may have to be quarantined from family on Christmas, but said it's better than going to a gathering and potentially infecting an elderly family member. "This helps them have a better Christmas next year, at least," Cilona said. The positivity rate seen Sunday was down from a high of 26 percent the health center was seeing shortly after Thanksgiving. Most of the people Cilona called with the bad news of a positive test were expecting it, but she said it's the ones who are surprised that make her feel like the testing event really made a difference. "There are some people who are like, 'You are kidding me. Thank goodness I'm not going to go to grandma's house this weekend,'" Cilona said. "That's what we really want." Wiersma said a line formed outside the drive-thru site by 7 a.m., a full hour before testing was supposed to start. Testing started early and wait times still were about 30 minutes long at one point, with Lorain Police managing traffic on Broadway. After the nurses administered the tests, they placed the swabs with solution in a cartridge. Fifteen minutes later, the cartridges were placed in an analyzer device that presented a positive or negative reading. Attendees were told not to expect a call if the results returned negative. If a large number of people who were tested Sunday came because they intend to travel for the holidays, very few told the nurses administering the tests about their plans. Nursing supervisor Crystal Sikula said the main thing people asked about was whether someone would call them if the test came back positive. "It's peace of mind, even if you are not doing anything, to know that you are okay," she said. Lorain County Health & Dentistry continues to offer no-cost PCR testing, with a doctor's order, by appointment at its drive-thru location. More information is available by calling them at 440-240-1655. Contact Dylan Reynolds at (440) 329-7123 or dreynolds@chroniclet.com. Follow him on Twitter @drey1357.