MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) --The Wisconsin Hospitals Association (WHA) announced Monday, Jan. 10, it is joining hospitals across the state in urging members of the public not to seek COVID-19 tests at hospital emergency rooms. 

According to a news release from WHA, emergency rooms throughout the state are under extreme stress due to surging COVID-19 cases as well as regular, seasonal increases in demand for medical services.

WHA says patients seeking COVID-19 tests at hospitals not only delay the provision of urgent care in emergency rooms, but also raise the risk of virus spread among medically vulnerable patients.

WHA is asking Wisconsinites get COVID-19 tests they require through the following means, as advised by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS):

• Contact your doctor to ask if your primary care clinic provides testing
• Seek testing from a free community testing site near you
• Request a free at home collection kit from DHS

Learn more about where to get a COVID-19 test in Wisconsin on the DHS website HERE or by calling 2-1-1.