Here’s what it took for some people to get COVID-19 test — and why it’s so selective

A lot of Americans are being turned away in their attempts to get a coronavirus test, but others have spoken about what it took to get an elusive test.

More than 300,000 people have been tested in the U.S. for coronavirus, according to the COVID-19 Tracking Project. The project said 535 people in the country have died from the virus as of Tuesday.

South Dakota woman Alyssa Mehlhaff told the Argus Leader she visited New York City this month and had a sore throat, cough and fever after she returned.

She was deemed a good candidate for the test because of her symptoms and travel history, the newspaper reported. New York has more than 25,000 COVID-19 cases, according to The New York Times.

Despite Clay Grubb of Charlotte, North Carolina, showing signs of a fever and having been in contact with people who contracted the virus, he initially was not able to get a test, he said in an op-ed for The Charlotte Observer. He began self-isolating March 6 and was told a week later that his doctor had a coronavirus test available for him.

He took the test and five days later his results came back positive, but by then he was “considered healthy and safe,” he wrote.

Andy Carvin, a Washington, D.C., area journalist and researcher who said he monitors COVID-19 rumors and disinformation, also had a difficult time getting a test, he said in an article posted on Politico.

Carvin wrote that he had a “nagging cough, shortness of breath and a low-grade fever,” and a nurse practitioner was concerned he came into contact with someone who traveled to the country “from a COVID-19 hot spot,” he said.

He received a coronavirus test, and despite being told results would come back in 48 hours, it took a week for Carvin to learn he was negative, he said. During that week, he and his family were left in limbo and a cloud of uncertainty.

A North Carolina man, Chris Leisure, told WJZY he had a sore throat, muscle aches and drowsiness when he went to the doctor. It was his high temperature that made him eligible for a test, he said.

Leisure said he did three tests, and after self-quarantining at home, he learned he was negative, WJZY reported.

Not everyone needs to be tested for coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State and local health departments make the ultimate decisions about who should be tested, but the CDC has laid out criteria for health care workers to decide when to test patients.

People who should be tested, according to the CDC, include hospitalized patients who have COVID-19 symptoms; symptomatic individuals with diabetes, heart disease or chronic lung or kidney disease; people who have been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient within the last two weeks; or individuals with symptoms who have traveled to an affected area in the last 14 days.

It’s easier to get the test in some states than others, however. A Louisiana woman, Michelle Foreman, told WWL she tested positive for the virus but her husband was unable to get a test.

“I’m just wondering what you have to do to fit the criteria to get tested?” Charles Foreman asked WWL. “Harvey Weinstein could get tested and he is in prison behind bars and I can’t get tested and I am dealing directly with the public (as a restaurant owner with his wife).”

Bridget, 62, and Adam Wurtz, 63, of Pennsylvania had 102-degree fevers and feared they had the virus, they told MSN. But despite their ages and showing symptoms, their fever did not meet the 103-degree threshold and they were not ill enough to be admitted, according to MSN.

The couple stayed home, quarantined and never found out if they have coronavirus.

Bobby London of Missouri told KY3 he had coughing, head congestion, a sore throat and later a 103-degree fever, but was unable to get a test when he went to an emergency room. He said he was refused a test because he had not traveled out of the country or been around anyone with the virus, the TV station reported.

The CDC recommends people who show coronavirus symptoms to stay home, call before seeking medical care and avoid public transportation. Emergency symptoms for the virus — when individuals should seek immediate medical Intention — include difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, persistent chest pain or pressure, confusion or bluish lips or face, the CDC said.

This story was originally published March 24, 2020 at 1:33 PM with the headline "Here’s what it took for some people to get COVID-19 test — and why it’s so selective."