County Public Health Awaiting Test Result for Coronavirus (COVID-19)
Author: Public Health Department
Date:
3/5/2020 4:09:22 PM
Public Health officials expect to receive laboratory test results this weekend of a specimen collected from a person with mild symptoms, who was recently in contact with travelers from an area with widespread transmission of COVID-19 and who were also mildly ill.
Disclaimer: This information may be outdated. For the most recent guidance and case details, visit SLOPublicHealth.org/covid19.
Out of an abundance of caution, the County of San Luis Obispo Public Health Department recently collected a specimen from a person who had mild symptoms and was in contact with travelers from an area with widespread transmission of COVID-19 and who were also mildly ill.
The patient has now fully recovered and none of the patient's contacts have symptoms. The patient has fully cooperated with home isolation and daily monitoring from Public Health staff.
The County Public Health Department expects to receive laboratory test results this weekend. The specimen was sent to the California Department of Public Health Laboratory for testing. Within the next two days, the Public Health Department Laboratory is expected to be capable of performing COVID-19 testing. Local testing will result in faster turnaround time for results.
Health Officer Dr. Penny Borenstein states, “In keeping with due diligence and our testing protocols, we have decided to proceed with testing this specimen although our suspicion of illness remains low.”
“While concern, precaution, and preparedness are good for us, panic is not. We need to all work together to keep our community safe and healthy,” Dr. Borenstein added. “The risk to the general public at this moment remains low. We assure the public that we will notify our residents if and when we do have a confirmed case in our county.”
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