Correction: This article has been updated to show that Winnebago County is prioritizing how they do contact tracing, not testing.
WINNEBAGO COUNTY (NBC 26) -- Health officials say that due to high case numbers in Winnebago County, they are prioritizing contact tracing for people with the highest risk for community spread.
In the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, health officials at the Winnebago County Health Department would determine who had been in close contact with a positive case and then reach out to each of those close contacts. This is referred to as a full case investigation.
But now, due to the influx of cases, the health department is limiting full case investigations to only those that have been identified as being high risk for community spread. This includes anyone working or living in assisted living, residential facilities, correctional and mental health facilities or other settings where there are many people at high risk and there is higher potential for spread of the virus.
For all other cases, the health department is still calling the person who tested positive, but health officials are asking them to reach out to their own close contacts to let them know they were exposed and to quarantine.
If you're waiting on test results, health officials say be patient. The National Guard is part of the Sunnyview test site. Anyone tested at a location like that one that is staffed by the National Guard can call a National Guard hotline for test results.
The request is to wait five days before calling that line. Health officials do want people waiting for results to quarantine and take extra precautions.
"We have thousands and thousands of cases currently in our community. We should really assume that any place that you go to in public, you can easily be exposed to the virus, so physical distance and masking are so vitally important,” said Gieryn.
Test results typically take 3 to 7 business days.