The R.I. Department of Health mailed letters to 5,000 randomly selected Rhode Islanders across the state inviting them to get tested at one of the sites.
If people are tested and their nasal swab test result is positive, the department will call them and start the contact tracing process.
Anna Lysyanskaya, a Brown University professor, told WPRI 12- “It said your household was chosen to be one of 5,000 households in Rhode Island to be tested. We were chosen at random,” she explained. “For some reason, I was really excited. I felt like I won the lottery, but that’s because I’m a nerd. … The more data we have, the better decisions the state can make about what to do, when to reopen, what’s safe and not safe.” She, like Gov. Gina Raimondo, is now encouraging anyone who gets invited to participate in this testing to do so.
“Anybody who gets a letter in the mail, I think it’s very important they show up and participate,” she said.
https://www.wpri.com/health/coronavirus/i-felt-like-i-won-the-lottery-providence-woman-randomly-selected-for-voluntary-covid-19-research-test/