A COVID-19 question and answer segment took place at the Lions Club meeting Thursday afternoon.

Stephens County Health Department officials Mendy Spohn, Regional Director for Oklahoma State Department of Health District 8, answered some of the most asked questions among citizens about the COVID-19 testing.

When the health department reports “active” cases, they report who is considered infectious. Spohn said numbers are counted one for each swab, so even if a person is tested eight times, they would only be counted once in the positive number should they test as such.

Spohn said, “when we say active, that’s somebody we consider infectious and they’re under isolation orders.”

Spohn clarified how they perform their testing and how the cases are counted.

“We do not add any antibodies into the number count,” Spohn said. “The number count that is done at the state health department is cases, confirmed cases, one individual.

“Anti-bodies are not added in,” Spohn said. “We only use antibodies for surveillance.”

There are a lot of scams out there to try and trace the virus, especially when it comes to apps on smart phones. However, Spohn said, “currently, in the State of Oklahoma, you will be contacted by a real person and you will be asked, ‘do you want to get on this texting system?’” From there, citizens who opt into the program will “get a text to report your disease or your symptoms over the next 14 days.”

Spohn talked about the different types of testing mechanisms.

“The rapid tests are a little less reliable for positive indications,” Spohn said. “The rapid tests are 40% false negative.

“If you get a positive on that, it’s positive,” Spohn said. “What we generally do is have the nurse practitioner talk to the patient and if the patient is having some pretty clear symptoms of COVID, we’ll go ahead and swab them for the send off test, the PCR (Polymerase chain reaction) 48-72 hour return test.”

Some of the tests only report antigens and are not included in the reported numbers.

“Some of the rapid tests are an antigen test, that is not an antibody and it’s not PCR test, like we do for the send off test,” Spohn said. “The antigen test is done in … a couple of the urgent care settings, maybe some doctor settings. Those offer a celebratory diagnostic but unless the person develops symptoms compatible with COVID, they will only be counted as a probable, right now. That number will never go into Stephens County count, until the state adds in probable cases.”

If a person or their family member tested positive at a clinic, Spohn said, “we treat those as if they’re probable and their infectious and we’re going to investigate, we’re going to quarantine off of that, but they are not considered confirmed because right now, the confirmatory definition is a PCR test that is sent off.”

For more information visit coronavirus.ok.gov and sign up for updates from the health department.