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Stop the Mass Testing and Mass Quarantining

PCR Tests are Unreliable

Chaos has been forced upon us by the mass testing and mass quarantining policy of the Reno County Health Department. This policy, which is not based on high-quality science, is the main reason small businesses struggled and many children fell behind in school. The high-level science shows that when an asymptomatic person has a PCR test run with a cycle threshold (Ct) of 35 or greater, the probability that person is infected is less than 3% and the probability of the test result being a false positive (non-infectious) is 97%. For months citizens informed the Reno County Commission the state lab (KDHE) was processing PCR tests with a Ct of 42 leading to a huge number of daily positive cases, including false positives, which caused panic and chaos in the community. After months of pressure at all levels, KDHE quietly lowered their Ct from 42 to 35 on January 7th and since that time there has been a noticeable drop in average daily positive results.

PCR tests were never meant to be used for diagnostic purposes; they were invented as a way to create copies of genetic material. On December 7, 2020 the World Health Organization finally released a guidance memo, warning that high cycle thresholds on PCR tests will result in false positives. This link was later removed and censored by the World Health Organization. However, we were able to obtain the original WHO Information Notice prior to its removal. You can view it here.

Asymptomatic Spread is Rare - Testing Asymptomatic People is Unnecessary

Early rapid reviews on asymptomatic spread were poorly executed and/or poorly documented, making estimates of asymptomatic spread questionable. A recent peer-reviewed systematic review and meta-analysis found that asymptomatic transmission rates ranged from only zero to 2.2%. The study concluded that asymptomatic spread is unlikely to be a major driver of clusters or community transmission of infection.

The Reno County Health Department needs to make policies based on high-level science and not emotion and politics. Testing should be used to strategically protect vulnerable populations, not young, healthy individuals who are low risk. Dr. Scott Atlas, Stanford University said, “The overwhelming majority of people who get this infection are not at high risk and when you start seeking out and testing asymptomatic people, you are destroying the workforce.” Adding asymptomatic testing to an already unreliable testing method leads to massive amounts of unnecessary quarantining resulting in closed daycares, schools going to remote learning and businesses struggling to survive.