Getting Screened for COVID-19? How does it work?

My feed is a continuous stream on everything having to do with Coronavirus, from infections rates, to closures and everything in between, but the one thing that I have a hard time passing by without commenting (and I haven't, yet) are the posts from people who for whatever reason, either visited the doctor or ER, and feel the need to share with everyone online what they were told.

Until it happened to me.

Yes, I became the very person I did NOT want to be, but I hope it was for good reason.

I was contacted this morning by my GP who wanted to do a quick screening since I fall within the High-Risk category. So of course I complied and was very honest about what I was feeling, even expressing the fact that I thought it's possible aside from a cold, that my fatigue was nothing more than stress and anxiety.

After doing the assessment, she spoke with the COVID-19 team (their term, not mine) and asked that I visit the ER today to get evaluated.

I went through triage like a normal visit but was given an EKG in the beginning too. I had a very mild fever and a chest X-Ray. The entire visit was quick but I wasn't given a COVID-19 test.
They did give me discharge papers and explained that I had an Upper Respiratory Viral Infection and advised me to isolate myself, rest, and call if I feel worse. In the end, I'm glad I was able to go home with a little reassurance, but I still don't know if I have the dreaded virus! Since I don't feel all that bad, I'm treating it like the cold or flu and doing what I can to stay sane.

I think we're all dealing with this the best way we can and for each of us, it's a little different. You might not be someone who has an auto-immune disease but live with an older relative and feel the need to be extra careful. There's a lot of unknown and all we can is try to stay calm and kind.

If you don't feel well, there are great screening options out there. I know for some Google's parent company Alphabet has created a site here Project Baseline to help screen patients and provide information. If anything a screening might put your mind at ease as to whether or not your symptoms warrant a visit. I'd always prefer to be more cautious than not!

Oh and please leave some TP for those who might need some too! As we passed Costco on the way home, the parking lot line looked like a theme-park ride with who knows how many people eating in line to shop!