COVID-19 Testing

The UGPHD, in alignment with guidance from the CDC and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), urges anyone living in Wyandotte County to get tested for COVID-19 if:

You are sick. Remember that COVID-19 symptoms can resemble flu, cold, or allergy symptoms, so it is best to get tested if you have any of these symptoms:

• Headache
• Cough
• Muscle Aches
• Loss of smell and taste
• Fever
• Chills
• Runny Nose
• Sore Throat
• Shortness of breath
• Diarrhea
• Nausea and vomiting
  
  

You have been exposed to COVID-19, meaning you were in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19 (get tested about five days after exposure to COVID-19) 

Regardless of vaccination status, anyone who is sick or who tests positive for COVID-19 with or without symptoms, should:

• Stay home for at least 5 days and isolate from others in your home. Wear a well-fitting mask if you must be around others in your home. Do not travel.
• After 5 full days, If you have no symptoms, or you are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and your symptoms are improving. you can leave your home. If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever resolves.
• For 5 additional days (until day 10), wear a well-fitting mask any time you are around others inside your home or in public. Do not travel until a full 10 days after your symptoms started or the date your positive test was taken if you had no symptoms. Avoid being around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.

Some people need to isolate for 10 days. If you had moderate to severe symptoms (such as difficulty breathing), you were hospitalized for COVID, or you have a weakened immune system, please stay home for at least 10 days. If you were severely ill, hospitalized for COVID, or you have a weakened immune system, it is also recommended that you contact your healthcare provider before ending isolation.

See the CDC guidelines for more information:

CDC Isolation Guidelines

The CDC guidelines on what to do if you are exposed to COVID changed on August 11, 2022. These guidelines no longer ask people to quarantine after exposure, regardless of vaccination status. Read the CDC guidance on what to do if you are exposed to COVID, or see more information below.

If you are exposed to COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, follow the guidance below:

• No quarantine required, but take precautions. You do not have to stay home unless you develop symptoms or test positive for COVID-19. Please follow the other guidelines below to monitor for illness and reduce the chances of spreading COVID-19 to others.
• Get tested at least 5 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19.
• Wear a mask around others for 10 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19. Do not go places where you are not able to wear a mask. Take extra precautions if you will be around people who are more likely to get very sick from COVID-19.  
• Watch for symptoms for 10 days after you last had close contact with someone with COVID-19. If you develop symptoms, get tested and stay home and isolate from others.

  
  

UGPHD Tip: If you want to be extra cautious after being exposed to COVID, you could consider other ways to reduce risk of COVID spread, such as limiting unnecessary contact with others for 10 days after exposure, or modifying activities to make them safer, like meeting friends outdoors instead of indoors.

COVID home tests, also called "self-tests' or "over-the-counter tests," are a useful tool to help determine if you may be infected with COVID and provide results in 15-30 minutes. Self-tests for COVID-19 give rapid results and can be taken anywhere, regardless of your vaccination status or whether or not you have symptoms.

These tests can be bought over the counter at many retail stores. There are also options to get free test kits at locations in Wyandotte County and to order through online resources. Learn more in the sections below on free test kits.

Home tests are antigen tests. This is a different kind of test from the PCR test that is usually offered at hospitals and public health testing sites. Antigen tests are usually reliable but can sometimes be less accurate than PCR tests. Antigen tests and PCR tests do not detect antibodies which would suggest a previous infection and they do not measure your level of immunity. 

Free COVID home test kits are available at these locations in Wyandotte County while supplies last.

Joe E. Amayo Argentine Community Center
2810 Metropolitan Ave, Kansas City, KS 66106
(913) 261-4382
Monday – Friday: 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Avenue of Life
500 N. 7th St. Trafficway, Kansas City, KS 66101
(816) 787-6101
Tuesday – Friday: 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.

Bethel Neighborhood Center
14 S 7th St, Kansas City, KS 66101
Monday – Friday: 9:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Kansas City, Kansas Public Library (West Branch)
1737 N 82nd St, Kansas City, KS 66112
Monday – Thursday: 9:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Friday & Saturday: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The Merc
501 Minnesota Ave, Kansas City, KS 66101
913-320-0404
7 days a week: 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.

You can order free COVID at-home test kits to be delivered to your home through the programs below.

Project Act: The Rockefeller Foundation launched Project Access Covid Tests (Project ACT) to provide free COVID home test to select communities around the U.S., including Wyandotte County. Click the button below and enter your zip code to order your COVID test kits:

AccessCovidTests.org

Federal home test kit program : Click the button below to order online, or call 1 (800) 232-0233 (TTY 1 (888) 720-7489) to order your free tests.

COVID.gov

Please note: Expiration dates have been extended on some home test kits.

See information on FDA-authorized home COVID tests, including expiration date extensions:

FDA COVID Home Test Info 

BinaxNOW Instructions

If you got a BinaxNOW test, click here to view instructions on the manufacturer's website.

Flowflex Instructions

If you got a Flowflex test, go to flowflexcovid.com or view an instructional video here:

Flowflex instructions video

Flowflex COVID-19 Antigen Home Test - Instructions for Use for Healthcare Providers (fda.gov)

InBios COVID Home Test Kits

InBios SCoV-2 Ag Detect Rapid Test - Instructions for Use (fda.gov)

Other COVID Home Test Kits

If you got another type of home COVID test, see information on FDA-authorized home COVID tests, with links to instructions and more information: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/home-otc-covid-19-diagnostic-tests  

Most COVID home test kits include a "test card" or "test cassette" that displays your results in a small box with the labels "C" and "T (for "Control" and "Test"). Look for a line next to each letter.

If only a C line appears, the test is negative. If both a C line and a T line appear, the test is positive. The T line may be faint. If there is only a T line and no C line, or there is no line at all, the result is invalid and you will need to take a new test.

Click here to report COVID home test results.

If you test positive for COVID: 

A positive result means the test detected the virus and you have COVID.

Stay home for at least 5 days from when your symptoms started, or from when your positive sample was taken if you don't have symptoms (stay home longer if you aren't feeling better, or if you've had a fever in the last 24 hours).

Please note: If your symptoms were moderate to severe (such as difficulty breathing), you were hospitalized for COVID, or you have a weakened immune system, please isolate for 10 days instead of 5 days. See the section on Quarantine & Isolation for more information, or see the CDC's guidance on isolation when you have COVID.

Tell people you have been in close contact with that they may have been exposed to COVID.

Consider retesting:

Please note: These retesting guidelines apply if you had no symptoms or mild symptoms that have improved. If your symptoms were moderate to severe, you were hospitalized for COVID, or you have a weakened immune system, please follow the CDC guidelines to stay home for 10 days.

After isolating at home for 5 full days, you can test yourself again on day 6 with an ANTIGEN test. First, make sure that your symptoms have improved AND you have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever reducing medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Then, you should test. Do NOT use a PCR test for this purpose. 

If the results is negative when you retest, you may leave home, but please wear a well-fitted mask when around other people for 5 more days. You should also avoid travel and avoid being around people who are at high risk for developing severe disease. 

If your result is positive when you retest, you should stay home for 5 more days. At the end of the 5 additional days, you may leave your house if your symptoms have improved AND you have been fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever reducing medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.

This guidance applies whether you are vaccinated or not. This helps prevent you from spreading COVID to others. 

When testing or retesting, please check with your employer regarding the kind of test they require if you are testing to leave/return to work.

If you test negative for COVID: 

A negative results means test did not detect the virus, but it doesn’t rule out an infection. 

If your result is negative, consider using another test kit to test yourself in 2 days. Multiple negative tests increase the confidence that you are not infected with the virus that causes COVID-19. 

If the result of your second test is positive, follow the guidance for people who test positive for COVID-19.