1,500 people sign up to be tested

SANDUSKY — The Erie County Health Department tested all 140 employees for COVID-19 Thursday and Friday as a dress rehearsal for a mass community testing that will begin Saturday. No employee tested positive for having the virus. One employee had the antibody for a virus, indicating an infection in the past, said Pete Schade, Erie County's health commissioner. Schade said he cannot release any information about that employee. Community testing starts Saturday for people who have signed up at the health department's website. It was announced earlier this month that 1,500 tests would be available through the health department, Family Health Services and Firelands Regional Medical Center in the first round. There will be additional rounds of testing, Schade said. As of Tuesday afternoon, about 1,000 had signed up for testing at the health department and a total of about 1,500 had signed up to be tested by all three organizations, Schade said, adding that the health department still had testing slots available. Schade said he's pleased the health department does not have any employees who are sick with coronavirus and said the department has tried to be careful about wearing personal protective equipment and following social distancing rules. Online registration closes Friday. After the tests are carried out, there will be a pause, and local health authorities will decide whether another round of tests is needed, Schade said. Funding from the bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is helping to cover the cost of the tests. Both of Sandusky's community health clinics received grants. The Erie County Community Health Center, run by the Erie County Health Department, received $186,079. Family Health Services, which operates on the south campus of Firelands Regional Medical Center in Sandusky, received $177,139.