This story has been updated after further clarification from Nick Baldetti that the tests at the Fairgrounds used nasal swabs, as opposed to the nasopharyngeal swabs referenced by him in the quotes below.
By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — One of the areas of focus of Monday's information from Reno County Health Department Director Nick Baldetti centered around the fact that the first batch of results from the Walmart and eTrueNorth testing at the Kansas State Fairgrounds came back and there were no positives from that testing.
"We recieved 129 negatives from the state fairgrounds and we are working, too, on our Reno County dashboard," Baldetti said. "We are working to break out those counts very specifically, so that we know exactly what the test rate from the Walmart testing site is."
The reason that no positives might not be relevant is that the tests are self-administered.
"I personally, as a health officer, am not confident in the application of the self-administered swabs," Baldetti said. "I would much rather prefer individuals go to a medically trained professional for the administration of those tests."
The bottom line is getting the swab to where it can find the virus is harder than it seems and nasal swabs like the ones done at the fairgrounds don't use the same procedure as the nasopharyngeal swabs done by medical providers, as described by Baldetti Monday.
"Essentially, that swab has to be inserted all the way through the nasal pathway to the back of the nasal cavity and we have to both touch the back end of the nasal cavity, it is behind the eye socket and then you have to rub the tip of the swab for a good five to ten seconds and then extract it," Baldetti said. "It is a very uncomfortable process."
Baldetti believes most people won't stick the swab far enough back on their own and if they do, they won't rub it for long enough to pick up any virus they might have.