Butte County Public Health will soon begin reporting probable cases of COVID-19 in addition to confirmed cases on the county’s coronavirus dashboard.
Health officials said in a press conference Thursday that the county has not been reporting positive antigen test results.
Antigen tests are commonly referred to as rapid tests. These tests can provide results in fifteen minutes but they are less accurate than polymerase chain reaction tests (PCR).PCR tests typically take two to three days for results and require a nasal or throat swab. Rapid test results are considered probable cases of COVID-19 instead of confirmed. The State of California does not report probable COVID-19 test results on its dashboard.
Danette York, director of Butte County Public Health, said the county will begin reporting these results because rapid tests are becoming more common.
“Showing the number of probable cases will not affect case metrics or our county tier level. It is purely for transparency and for letting the public know how many cases are truly out there,” York said.
Due to the rising number of cases, Butte County will also not be able to contact everyone who has been exposed to the virus. Contact tracing efforts will be prioritized for those most and risk.
Click hereto monitor COVID-19 cases in Butte County.