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