DHS Now Auto-Importing Positive COVID-19 Test Results
Improves process, ensures most up-to-date data
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) has updated the Wisconsin Electronic Disease Surveillance System (WEDSS) to allow positive COVID-19 test results to be automatically imported into the system. This change is intended to support the efforts of local and tribal health departments (LTHDs) to manage the large influx of positive tests resulting from the ongoing surge driven by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
As a result of this new auto-import process, DHS expects COVID-19 data to be temporarily elevated over the next few days while this process occurs and back-logged cases are brought into the live system. This change will help DHS provide the most accurate and up-to-date data moving forward. In the meantime, we encourage you look at seven-day averages, which help to smooth out day-to-day fluctuations in data, as well as data by date of symptom onset or diagnosis to more accurately track disease activity in Wisconsin.
Positive COVID-19 tests will be imported using the same logic that was used to manually import cases from WEDSS, ensuring that DHS and LTHDs are adhering to the current COVID-19 case definition(link is external) and maintaining data integrity. This update does not change what the data has already been showing us over the past several weeks, which is that Wisconsin continues to experience an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the Omicron variant. Our hope is that by further automating this process, it will reduce the burden on LTHDs and help to keep their workload manageable.
The time it takes for a record to enter WEDSS does not affect a person being notified of their test results. Results are communicated by the testing entity as soon as they are available. Due to increased demand for testing, it may take longer for you to receive your results. However, if you have waited more than 3 days, contact your health care provider who ordered the test, or call 211 for assistance.
More about the Coronavirus Pandemic
- MKE County: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rising - Graham Kilmer - Jan 16th, 2023
- Not Enough Getting Bivalent Booster Shots, State Health Officials Warn - Gaby Vinick - Dec 26th, 2022
- Nearly All Wisconsinites Age 6 Months and Older Now Eligible for Updated COVID-19 Vaccine - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Dec 15th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Bi-Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Dec 9th, 2022
- MKE County: COVID-19 Disease Burden Remains Stable - Graham Kilmer - Nov 25th, 2022
- MKE County: Wastewater Data Shows COVID-19 Uptick - Graham Kilmer - Nov 18th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Bi-Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Nov 11th, 2022
- DHS Launches Free Telehealth Service for COVID-19 Treatment - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Nov 2nd, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Oct 28th, 2022
- New COVID-19 Boosters Available for Children - Graham Kilmer - Oct 25th, 2022
Read more about Coronavirus Pandemic here
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