Loudoun County, VA - Official Website

Where can I get tested for COVID-19?: (Updated 4/24/20) Contact your doctor if you believe that you may be infected with COVID-19 and would like to get tested. Unless you are having a medical emergency, residents are discouraged from going to the emergency department for evaluation or testing. Currently, testing capacity is limited so testing is limited to doctors’ offices and emergency departments. As availability of specimen collection kits improve, information on additional testing location will be provided. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

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COVID-19 - Testing

1. I want to be tested for COVID-19. Why can’t I have a test if I request one?: (Updated 4/24/20) Well individuals do not require testing. If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your doctor. Additionally, there is currently a limited supply of specimen collection kits. As a result, these tests are being reserved for sick people who are most severely impacted by coronavirus. As test availability improves, the goal is for anyone who is sick to be able to be tested. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

2. Where can I get tested for COVID-19?: (Updated 4/24/20) Contact your doctor if you believe that you may be infected with COVID-19 and would like to get tested. Unless you are having a medical emergency, residents are discouraged from going to the emergency department for evaluation or testing. Currently, testing capacity is limited so testing is limited to doctors’ offices and emergency departments. As availability of specimen collection kits improve, information on additional testing location will be provided. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

3. What are the signs and symptoms of the coronavirus and at what point should I be tested?

(Updated 4/24/20) According to the CDC, reported illnesses have ranged from mild symptoms to severe illness and death for confirmed COVID-19 cases. The following symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure.

Fever
Cough
Shortness of breath

If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms, call your doctor.

Please note: The Loudoun County Health Department does not provide testing or evaluate ill individuals.

View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

4. Does the Loudoun County Health Department provide testing for COVID-19?: (Updated 4/24/20) No, the Loudoun County Health Department does not provide the testing or evaluate ill individuals. If you think you have been exposed to COVID-19 and develop a fever and symptoms, such as cough or difficulty breathing, call your doctor. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

5. How should testing be done if a person believes that they have been exposed or are experiencing symptoms? Should they go to their doctor or hospital, or can they call the health department?: (Updated 4/24/20): Any individual should contact their health care provider immediately if he/she develops symptoms of the coronavirus (COVID-19), has been in close contact with a person known to have COVID-19, or has recently traveled from an area with widespread or ongoing community spread of COVID-19. Now that private laboratories are providing this testing, their health care provider can obtain and submit samples for COVID-19 testing directly, without needing approval by the Health Department. If the individual does not have access to a health care provider, call an urgent care center. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

6. Are there enough testing kits in the area for the current anticipated need?: (Updated 4/24/2020): Currently there are not sufficient specimen collection kits or testing capability for the need in Loudoun County. There is an expectation by our local providers that the availability of these kits will improve significantly in the coming weeks. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

7. In Loudoun, do we have private companies capable of doing COVID 19 testing?: (Posted 4/24/20): As of March 11, 2020, both Quest and LabCorp can test for COVID-19. Neither lab obtains the specimen from individuals, this needs to be performed by a health care provider. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

8. Are Loudoun hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and other healthcare providers getting the tests and other medical supplies they need? Can the county government facilitate & expedite the delivery?: (Updated 4/24/20): The Loudoun County Health Department is working closely with local health care providers on preparations for addressing surges in demand. Regarding testing, COVID-19 testing is currently being done by the Commonwealth of Virginia and by the private laboratories LabCorp and Quest. Doctors and health care providers do not conduct the testing themselves. Doctors and health care providers take swabs and submit swabs to labs for testing. While there is expected to be a short learning curve for our private health care providers to learn how to effectively utilize the private laboratory resource, there is currently no backlog noted in their ability to do so. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

9. Is there more than one strain of COVID 19? If so, how will that influence testing?

(Updated 4/24/20): According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the coronavirus is able to change and adapt, similar to influenza. This allows coronavirus to affect different animal species and to cause such diverse illnesses in humans as COVID-19, SARS, MERS and the common cold. It is expected that COVID-19 will similarly continue to evolve. It is unclear, though, whether this further evolution will have any impact on the ability to develop effective vaccinations or antiviral medications.

10. Can testing be made faster for adults who are immune-compromised?: (Posted 3/11/20): As of March 11, 2020, there is no backlog in testing capacity. The limiting factor is the time it takes to get the test to the lab. It is expected the total turnaround time would be around 2-3 days.

11. Are we only testing people who are clearly symptomatic? What if a person has mild symptoms, can a person still be tested?: (Posted 3/11/20): Testing by the state laboratory must meet criteria set out by the CDC. Testing through private laboratories does not have this requirement.

12. Can you provide info on how individuals with no active symptoms might get tested?: (Updated 4/24/20): COVID-19 testing is performed by a health care provider taking swabs and submitting them to a laboratory for testing. Until recently, only the government could perform this testing. Beginning March 6, 2020, a private laboratory, LabCorp, began conducting this testing, which significantly expanded the testing capacity. At the same time, the requirement that an individual be hospitalized or in contact with a known case in order to receive testing went away. Currently, if a patient is sick, they should contact their primary care provider, who can obtain the specimen from them if they have a contract with LabCorp. If they don’t have a LabCorp contract, the doctor can still call the health department for possible testing through the state. It is not recommended at this time, though, that individuals be tested if they have no active symptoms and no contact with a known case. View the latest information on COVID-19 testing and data.

13. What is the current criteria for evaluating and testing?: (Updated 3/24/2020): Current criteria are available online, which state: “Clinicians should use their judgment to determine if a patient has signs and symptoms compatible with COVID-19 and whether the patient should be tested.”

14. Has the county tried to bypass CDC and obtain test kits directly from WHO or private companies?: (Posted 3/16/2020): Specimens can be obtained locally and submitted for testing, where the actual testing kits are. With the start of private testing for COVID-19, there currently should be no difficulty for a doctor who has a contract with LabCorp to submit a patient’s specimen for testing. The capacity of the state lab for testing continues to be limited, but it is available for their doctors who do not have a LabCorp contract whose patients meet testing criteria.

15. What level of testing is currently being performed? Is it only people who are symptomatic, or has testing in our area been expanded to anyone who has come into contact?: (Posted 3/16/2020): Testing is currently being performed by the state lab, DCLS, and by the private labs LabCorp and Quest. Priority for testing through the state lab is set by the Virginia Department of Health and follows CDC guidance, which currently involves having symptoms and having high risk travel or being a contact of a known case. Private labs do not require doctors to follow these guidelines, but they are typically doing so due to the small number of specimen collection kits made available to them currently.