Richland Center, WI: Richland County Emergency Management Director, Darin Gudgeon announced that the COVID-19 drive-thru testing event scheduled for Monday, February 15th at the Richland County Fairgrounds has been canceled due to frigid temperatures. Gudgeon reports “we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause, but with the cold weather forecasted again this week, it is just not possible to conduct a safe drive-thru testing event. The technique of swabbing the nose for secretions to be analyzed for the COVID-19 virus is a medical procedure, and for the health and safety of our staff and those wanting a test, the ambient temperatures need to be near 50 degrees in the area the testing is taking place. The location at the fairgrounds is heated, but because of the design of the building, it is impossible to effectively maintain an ambient temperature of 50 degrees.” Individuals who are symptomatic and need a test, should contact the Richland Hospital Clinic at 608-647-6321 or their primary healthcare provider.
FREE COVID-19 drive-thru community testing events will continue in Richland County, but the events will not be held if the outside temperature at 9am is in the single digits or below. These events will also follow the Wisconsin National Guard policy requiring that the ambient temperature of the testing area be maintained at a minimum of 50 degrees. The tentative FREE COVID-19 testing schedule for events offered in Richland County are as follows:
| Thursday, February 18th | 10am-2pm | Richland County Fairgrounds | WI National Guard Event |
| Monday, February 22nd | 9am-11am | Richland County Fairgrounds | Richland County Event |
| Thursday, February 25th | 10am-2pm | Richland County Fairgrounds | WI National Guard Event |
| Monday, March 1st | 9am-11am | Richland County Fairgrounds | Richland County Event |
| Thursday, March 4th | 10am-2pm | Richland County Fairgrounds | WI National Guard Event |
This schedule is subject to change.
Richland County residents are encouraged to sign-up for NIXLE alerts by texting 53581 to 888777 or go to www.nixle.com to sign-up to receive emails. You will then receive up-to-date alerts regarding local COVID testing sites and vaccination clinics, severe weather, public safety, criminal activities, missing persons, traffic issues, and local events.
For the most up-to-date COVID-19 information, follow Richland County Health & Human Services on Facebook or consult the following websites:
- Richland County: https://covid.co.richland.wi.us
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services: www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/covid-19
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/
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