Think you may have coronavirus? Here’s what to do in SLO County

If you have symptoms of coronavirus — fever, cough, shortness of breath — your first step is to call your local physician, just as you would for any other illness.

If you have trouble getting an appointment or you don’t already have a primary care doctor, you can also try an urgent care facility, but be sure to call first.

One of those, Community Health Centers (CHC), has been “flooded with calls from anxious patients,” according to Steve Mahr, director of marketing and communications.

A nonprofit health care provider, CHC has numerous clinics throughout San Luis Obispo County, including in Nipomo, Oceano, Arroyo Grande, San Luis Obispo, Templeton and San Miguel.

“We take care of everyone, regardless of ability to pay,” said Mahr.

Due to the volume of calls, patients may be put on hold for an extended period of time, Mahr said, but CHC is working on a way to expedite calls.

CHC is asking patients with coronavirus symptoms to wait in their cars; health care workers will go to them.

The emergency room is an option, too, but only if you are in serious distress — such as having a high fever or difficulty breathing. Health officials want to reserve capacity in ERs for the seriously ill.

Again, be sure to call first.

French and Arroyo Grande hospitals have this instruction on their websites: “If you are experiencing respiratory symptoms like cough, fever or shortness of breath, and have traveled outside of the United States in the last 14 days, please call ahead. Upon arrival, please put on a mask and inform the care team immediately.”

If a physician determines you should be tested, your medical provider will either take a nasal swab or give you a referral to a lab that can take a sample.

The county has the ability to do in-house testing on 50 samples per day and has not yet reached that capacity, according to Public Health spokesperson Michelle Shoresman. If it needs to run more than 50 tests a day, it can send samples to another public health lab for processing.

SLO County physicians also have the option of sending samples to private labs. In those cases, all positive tests must be reported to county Public Health.

As of Monday afternoon, three people in San Luis Obispo County had tested positive for COVID-19.

Here is the most recent criteria for who qualifies for coronavirus testing, according to county Public Health:

• Anyone with fever or symptoms of lower respiratory illness — including health care workers — who has been in contact with someone with a confirmed case of COVID-19, within 14 days of the onset of symptoms.
• Anyone with fever and symptoms of lower respiratory illness who has a history of travel in a affected geographic area within 14 days of the onset of symptoms.
• Anyone experiencing fever with severe lower respiratory illness, such as pneumonia, requiring hospitalization and without an alternative diagnosis.

The criteria for testing may become less restrictive in the future, Shoresman said, but she’s unsure when that may be.