Test criteria expands

Posted on May 1, 2020

The Florida Department of Health has expanded its criteria for coronavirus (COVID-19) testing to include six new symptoms in accordance to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines.

The CDC recently announced that people infected with the coronavirus may experience chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headaches, a sore throat and loss of taste or smell. These six new symptoms may be felt in addition to fever, cough or shortness of breath two to 14 days after COVID-19 exposure.

To be tested, an individual must be experiencing a fever over 100.4, a cough, shortness of breath, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headaches, a sore throat or loss of taste or smell and check one or more of the following boxes:

• Been in close contact with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case,

• Traveled to, or from, an affected geographic location with widespread community transmission within the last 14 days,

• Have a history of international travel or been on a cruise within the last 14 days,

• Be hospitalized with an acute lower respiratory illness of unknown origin,

• Be a person 65 years or older with chronic health conditions,

• Or be an immunocompromised person.

Those who meet the criteria qualify for COVID-19 testing, however, priority testing is given to hospitalized patients, high-risk patients and healthcare workers or first responders who are exhibiting symptoms.

Test results are generally returned from a state laboratory in 48 hours, while commercial labs can take a week or longer to return test results.

If an individual experiences any of the symptoms outlined above or suspects they have contracted the coronavirus, the DOH recommends they immediately self-isolate and call their healthcare provider to discuss their symptoms, travel history and/or possible COVID-19 exposure.

“It is important to call ahead so that your healthcare provider can take the proper steps to avoid further spread of the illness when you arrive for your medical evaluation,” DOH Taylor County Public Information Officer Martine Young said.

While meeting the criteria is a requirement to be tested by a state laboratory, healthcare providers may order testing with a commercial laboratory as they deem necessary.

“Providers do not need to get approval in order to conduct tests unless they have some kind of internal policies or guidelines. It is simply at the provider’s discretion,” Young said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), not all people who are infected with the coronavirus show symptoms.

Local DOH officials confirmed this, stating that a person who may test positive for the coronavirus but shows no symptoms is “asymptomatic.” If they develop symptoms with time, they are considered “pre-symptomatic.”

“There is a lot unknown. An asymptomatic person is one that may test positive but have no symptoms (i.e. no cough/fever). There is not data available for those that are/were positive and asymptomatic,” Young said.

Asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic cases can still spread the coronavirus.

“These cases are causing some concern because people could unknowingly be spreading the virus. We educate on ‘if you’re sick, stay home’ but asymptomatic people never really become ‘sick’,” Young said.

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