[Marty94]

My sister is a DNP. On Friday, we learned that a patient she treated was Covid positive. The same day, a coworker’s granddaughter also tested positive. The potential existed for two exposures. So, she was tested. The results will be back today if Covid positive and a week if negative. If positive, she will be quarantined and tested every 72 hours until she gets a negative result before being able to resume duties at the hospital. The frustrating thing for the medical staff is that they are tested by the state like everyone else which takes them out of service for several days. To be eligible for the 90 minute test, you must be a patient that needs to be admitted to a hospital or a discharged patient that is returning to a group home setting such as a nursing home. The reason health care workers do not have priority is because there are simply not enough of these tests. Of her nursing staff, which is responsible for pre-op, 4 of 8 called in sick as they were waiting on test results. This is the reality.

So, to add to this discussion... I don’t know about the general population, but healthcare workers must be tested multiple times if found positive. Some states may require tests more frequently or perhaps they have access to the 90 minute test. What my sister has found though is that many people are testing positive for having had Covid without symptoms or symptoms so mild they didn’t associate it with Covid and these numbers are exponentially increasing.