FORT WORTH, Texas — Hospitals and public health facilities are seeing an increase in people showing up asking to be tested, but restrictions from the state prevent that.
“They’re anxious and many are calling and saying, 'I want to come in and be tested,'” Stephen Love, the president of the Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council, said. “People should be concerned, of course, because this is something that’s very contagious, but let’s don’t panic.”
State health officials say to be tested a person must have a fever, cough or shortness of breath and have either been in contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus recently or been to a country with a level 2 or 3 CDC warning.
Love recommends calling a primary doctor before coming to an office or an emergency room.
“You don’t want to walk into an emergency room because you could be exposed yourself, assuming you have no coronavirus,” Love said.
Hospitals are taking changes to adapt to the spread of COVID-19. Love said in the next few days some hospital systems in the DFW area are planning to begin screening and monitoring patients virtually and setting up testing sites outside of the ER to prevent interaction.
“It’s best for the patient and candidly it’s best for the workforce that’s delivering the care,” Love said.
Supplies have been limited, but it’s increasing, and labs are now stocked. President Trump said Wednesday evening co-pays will be waived for coronavirus testing.
“We are scaling capacity now with the aim to validate and perform testing at other Quest Diagnostics high-complexity laboratories serving the United States," Quest Labs said in a statement. "We expect to be able to perform tens of thousands of tests a week within the next six weeks.”
“I think if people continue to practice good health habits, they’re going to be OK,” Love said.
“I’m going to say it again: Get your flu shot. Wash your hands with soap and water.”
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