Screening and testing are two common terms being referenced in relation to COVID-19. Learn more about their differences.
Many terms that you likely haven’t used this way before are being introduced during the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Screening and testing are two common terms being referenced. You may think screening and testing are the same, but they are different.
For COVID-19, screening at entrances to health care facilities may take place regardless of whether you have COVID-19 signs or symptoms. Screenings are precautionary and could include answering a few, brief questions and having your temperature taken.
COVID-19 testing occurs when a health care provider determines that symptoms are such that testing is warranted. For example, testing may be ordered if you are exhibiting signs of fever or temperature greater than 100 degrees, a new cough (within the last day or two) or shortness of breath that is not due to allergies or a chronic condition, and you are concerned that you may have been exposed to COVID-19. Testing also could occur to investigate something detected during a screening.
In a nutshell, screening determines if you exhibit signs of COVID-19 and testing determines if you have COVID-19.
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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If people who feel they do not need to be hospitalized are not tested until they become hospitalized, do the totals as reported by the Wisconsin Department of Health only reflect the numbers who have been hospitalized?
Hello Martha – thank you for reaching out.
We can’t speak on behalf of the state, but according to the Department of Health Services website:
“All data are laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported as of 9 p.m. the previous evening, to reflect verified and accurate information. In the event of a discrepancy between cases reported by DHS and cases reported by Wisconsin local public health agencies, data reported by local public health agencies should be considered the most up to date.”