Saline County and Salina residents are not being ordered to shelter in place yet, but they are being urged to stay home.

According to the Saline County Health Department, they want the citizens to be vigilant in staying home and away from public places to avoid having to impose formal restrictions on movement. The Saline County Health officer is fully prepared to execute a stay-at-home order.

Saline County has not had a confirmed positive case of COVID-19. Just because no positive cases have been reported through  official channels, doesn’t mean that there isn’t a potential for a positive case to exist within our community. It is possible that a person hasn’t met the requirements for the testing set by KDHE and have been advised by their medical provider to self-quarantine.

The largest rumor they hear is that testing in Saline County is not being done. They say that simply is not true. Testing is being done in Saline County by the medical providers and Salina Regional Health Center.

A test has to be authorized by a medical professional and meet the criteria that they and KDHE have set forth to test. Testing supplies are extremely limited. Local providers have requested more supplies for testing, but so has every other medical provider in Kansas and the U.S.

They say they know this is frustrating. This is a frustrating, stressful, and trying time for all in their agencies as well as their. medical professionals.

They ask the public to please be patient and understand the constraints they are working under that are out of their control.

Several common questions and answers directly related to symptoms, testing for the virus and requirements for testing have been posted on their website at www.saline.org/coronavirus