from The County Insider
Office of the Nassau County Manager
March 17, 2020
From Nassau County Emergency Management:
Sharing again for those wondering if they need to be tested for COVID-19.
What should I do if I think I (or someone in my family) might have COVID-19?
• If you develop a fever and symptoms of respiratory illness, such as cough or shortness of breath and need medical care, contact your health care professional.
• The Florida Department of Health is prioritizing testing of sick individuals who had close contact with a laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case, are part of an outbreak, have traveled to an area with widespread COVID-19 transmission, or are hospitalized with unexplained respiratory illness.
• If you are sick and have recently traveled to an area where COVID-19 is spreading or have had close contact with a lab-confirmed case of COVID-19, your provider will work with your county public health department to determine if you need to be tested for COVID-19.
• If you are sick and have NOT traveled or been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, contact your doctor’s office, an urgent care, or an emergency department for follow up. If your doctor decides they want to test for COVID-19, they can order a test through a commercial lab or contact the health department for consultation at 904-875-6100.
For more information visit: http://www.floridahealth.gov/diseases-and-conditions/COVID-19/
All well and good, but are there any tests available in Nassau County? This is the real crisis, that even if you show symptoms (that means you’ve been a carrier for about two weeks) we have no place to go to get tested. If I am wrong, I would love to know where the tests in Nassau County are.
If we don’t test we’ll never know the full extent of the outbreak now and we’ll be that much more at risk in the near future. Testing must be implemented immediately.