COVID-19 testing: What happens after a sample is taken?

MOSES LAKE — A person with symptoms that resemble COVID-19 is tested for the virus. What happens to the test? How long does it take to get results back? How does the patient get notified?

These are some of the common questions that Theresa Adkinson, administrator of the Grant County Health District, is asked.

In an interview, one of the first things that Adkinson pointed out is that how the health district operates one week is different from how it may operate the next week, due to how fast things are changing with the COVID-19 situation.

Once a COVID-19 test sample is taken, it is sent off to one of several labs. When the COVID-19 virus first hit Washington state, there was only one lab, operated by the state, that could process tests. Now there are multiple labs that tests can be sent to.

“Every week, there is a new lab coming on board,” Adkinson said.

Even with all the new labs able to do testing, it can still take three to 10 days for test results to return. Adkinson said that some commercial labs are backlogged as more people in Washington state and across the country are being tested.

Health care providers that perform tests work with the commercial labs. The Grant County Health Department does not. It works strictly with the state health department lab.

When individuals are tested, they are sent home and told to avoid all contact with others, including the people they live with, while awaiting results. Adkinson said that until the results come back, health care providers have no idea what kind of illness the patient has. If the test were to come back as positive for coronavirus, they don’t want others to be exposed.

Usually the health district knows when a test is being sent out. Occasionally a test result comes back that is a surprise to the district. When the health district is alerted about the test when it is first sent out, the district staff gets some demographic information about the person. If district staffers didn’t know about the test, they get basic information from the lab results.

All test results are sent to the patient’s health care provider, who reports the information to the health district. The exception to that is on the weekends.

Because of the COVID-19 crisis, health district staff has started working seven days a week. Some lab results reported over the weekend are seen by the health district and counted before health facilities see the results on Mondays. Adkinson said the health district sees more test results come back on Thursday through Sunday than other days.

If a test result is negative, the patient is informed and is able to go on with life as normal.

When a positive result comes back, health clinics relay the information to the patient. The patient has to stay in isolation for 72 hours after their fever has disappeared.

While most people who get a positive result have some symptoms, there are some who exhibit no symptoms. Those people must wait at least 14 days before they can come out of isolation.

When a test sent to a commercial lab comes back positive, the test is sent to the state lab for confirmation. The test is counted immediately by the health district, and the district begins an investigation, even before confirmation comes from the state lab.

An investigation involves getting information on all the people who have been around the patient in the past 14 days. Then these people are alerted.

Adkinson said that there is a big difference between a close contact and a casual contact with someone who is infected. A casual contact is when someone is in the same location as the positive person but isn’t necessarily near them. An example of casual contact would be being in a grocery store at the same time or going to the same showing of a play or movie. In contrast, a close contact would be someone who spoke with or hugged an infected person.

The biggest thing that Adkinson emphasized in helping to keep the number of positive cases low is for everyone to stay home. Unless there is a reason for people to be out, for reasons such as grocery shopping or work, everyone should stay put.

“And not the whole family going to the grocery store – send one,” Adkinson said.

Rachal Pinkerton may be reached via email at rpinkerton@columbiabasinherald.com.