Wright County Public Health would like to inform residents that on Monday, Sept. 21 through Wednesday, Sept. 23, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will be conducting voluntary in-person surveys with residents to understand the effect COVID-19 is having on Minnesota communities.

The purpose of the survey – called CASPER (Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response) – is to help understand how COVID-19 has spread in Minnesota communities, understand what caused COVID-19 to spread in certain areas, explore how COVID-19 transmission and infection rates differ among regions of Minnesota, identify the percentage of people infected with COVID-19 that have no symptoms and improve health messaging to help stop COVID-19 spread.

The MDH study includes a free a COVID-19 test for those who wish to take one – a test that looks for antibodies to determine if you may have previously contracted COVID-19 but didn’t show any symptoms – and the survey. Public health workers may ask you to participate in the study, but anyone is free to opt out of being questioned if they feel uncomfortable.

Workers will be going door-to-door to conduct the surveys with a goal of targeting neighborhoods that have been impacted by outbreaks of COVID-19. As a reminder, if a public health worker approaches your house, they will ask you if you want to be part of the survey. If you don’t, they will leave and not pressure you to continue. They will never ask you for private information such as a Social Security number or a credit card number. All information they collect will remain private and for survey response purposes only.

Public health workers will be identifiable as wearing colored vests, gloves, masks and protective gear in order to social distance and keep all participants in the survey safe.

For more information on the CASPER survey, click here: https://www.health.state.mn.us/diseases/coronavirus/casper.html