State Expands Testing; CDC Adds 6 New COVID-19 Symptoms

(April 25, 2020 1:27 PM) Beginning this week, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) expanded testing criteria as the state continues to work to increase testing supplies and access.  

Now any Michigander displaying mild symptoms or any essential worker still reporting to work in person, whether symptomatic or not, is eligible to get a test with an order from a health care provider. 

The Centers for Disease Control has indicated 25 percent – and maybe more – of those exposed to the novel coronavirus show no symptoms. It is important to test so those who have the virus with mild or no symptoms can isolate themselves and avoid spreading the virus to those who are more at risk for complications. 

Common COVID-19 symptoms include fever, dry cough and shortness of breath. Those who experience symptoms should call their health care provider to discuss getting an order for testing. If a health care provider is unavailable, please contact the nearby testing site to discuss getting an order for testing; in some cases, an order may not be necessary. 

Yesterday, the CDC tripled the number of coronavirus symptoms it lists on its website.  They previously listed fever, cough and shortness of breath as symptoms of COVID-19. The CDC has added six additional symptoms as people “have had a wide range of symptoms reported,” it says on its website. 

New symptoms for the disease now include “chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and new loss of taste or smell,” the CDC said.

In Jackson, testing is being done at Henry Ford Allegiance Health, One Jackson Square and the Center for Family Health, 505 North Jackson Street.  Starting Monday, April 27,  COVID-19 testing will be added at the MLK Center, 1107 Adrian Street. The testing center will operate in the parking lot 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

To schedule a test at HFAH, call the Henry Ford MyCare Advice line at (313) 874-7500.  For testing at the Center for Family Health, call the CFH testing hotline at (517) 748-5363.

Jackson has a large testing capacity due to an anonymous donation of 200 additional tests each day by a local lab.

The test is free for most people. Many insurance providers are waiving copays, and those with Medicaid or the Healthy Michigan Plan also have no cost. 

Additional sites can be found by visiting Michigan.gov/CoronavirusTest and entering the ZIP code. 

“If you meet the testing criteria, and you’re told you don’t need a test or one isn’t available, it may mean that test site does not have the supplies needed to test. We encourage you to visit the online test site locator and call the nearest site regarding next steps,” Khaldun said. “You are your best advocate, and we know we need to increase testing as a strategy to further slow the spread of COVID-19.” 

“Testing remains critical to our efforts to slow the spread of the virus,” said Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, MDHHS chief medical executive and chief deputy for health. “Increased testing helps us understand where this disease is so we can identify people at highest risk and make sure we are quickly implementing best practices for preventing further cases and deaths.”

MDHHS would like to see 15,000 tests completed daily in Michigan per recommendations by the Harvard Global Health Institute, which published a recommendation of 152 tests per day per 100,000 population to begin to re-open the United States. That level of testing is necessary to identify the majority of people who are infected, and isolate them from people who are healthy, according to the Harvard researchers.

It is important to contact the testing site before visiting to check on hours and expectations. Some sites can do testing while the patient remains in their car, others may require an appointment. 

Testing is performed with a nasopharyngeal swab, which means inserting a long Q-tip into the cavity between the nose and mouth for 15 seconds and rotating the swab several times. The swab is repeated on the other side to make sure there is enough material collected. The swab is then inserted into a container and sent to a lab for testing. The health care provider will contact you with the test results and to explain next steps. 

“We are hearing rumors the test isn’t safe or actually contains coronavirus,” said Khaldun. “That is untrue, and the swabs are completely safe and do not contain the virus.” 

Those who test positive will be asked to isolate themselves for at least seven days. The patient can then leave their home after being symptom-free for three days. Those who develop severe symptoms and are having trouble breathing should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.  

Call a health care provider with questions about symptoms or testing. To find a testing site, visit Michigan.gov/CoronavirusTest. For information about COVID-19 and available resources, visit Michigan.gov/Coronavirus.  

Information around this outbreak is changing rapidly. The latest information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.