Testing Guidelines for COVID-19 continue to change. Testing swabs and viral transport medium remain in short supply across the country. ISDH will continue to focus on testing our highest-risk patients to provide a fast turnaround time. Most people with mild symptoms do not need to be tested and should follow the self-isolation guidelines established by CDC. ISDH supplies all the needed collection materials to providers and will not accept a specimen that has not been approved prior to collection.
The latest guidelines are as follows:
ISDH Testing Guidelines: March 19, 2020
- Patient requiring hospitalization with fever and lower respiratory symptoms, constituting:
- Admission to the hospital due to complications of their acute respiratory illness.
- Healthcare workers (inpatient, outpatient, nursing home, and other long-term service facilities) and EMS staff who provide direct patient care to at-risk patients:
- Symptomatic with fever and lower respiratory symptoms and in their role has potential or unknown exposure to at risk patients.
- Long-term care facility residents or prison/jail residents and staff (who have direct contact with patients or inmates):
- Symptomatic with fever and respiratory illness or otherwise no known COVID-19 contact.
- Persons experiencing homelessness:
- Symptomatic with fever and respiratory illness and otherwise no known COVID-19 contact.
