How bad is the coronvirus? We need more testing to really know | Letter to the editor
On Friday when President Donald Trump toured the facilities of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, he said that there were plenty of “beautiful, perfect” tests available and that “anyone who wants a test can get a test.” Last Wednesday, it was reported that the CDC had broadened its testing standards so that more people could be tested. Unfortunately, the test is not readily available to everyone who may be infected. This means the numbers that are being reported about infection rates are likely inaccurate.
Case in point: my 9-year old granddaughter lives in Oregon, a state with 14 reported cases. An administrator in her school district tested positive for coronavirus. The school where his office is located was shut down. However, students from several other schools — including my granddaughter — go to that school for an afters-chool program.
A few days ago, my granddaughter spiked a fever and developed a cough. We know those are two of the classic symptoms of COVID-19. Her parents took her to the doctor, but she did not meet all the criteria for testing. I’m not sure which criteria she didn’t meet.
The CDC has said that “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.” What the doctor said is due to her age and overall health, my granddaughter will recover and there is nothing he would do differently even if he had confirmation of COVID-19. She should rest, get plenty of fluids, take cough medicine and something to reduce her fever.
We will never know if my granddaughter had COVID-19. Hopefully, she will not and has not infected anyone else. But we also don’t know the true spread of this disease as she was not tested.
Jenni Casale
Palmetto
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 12:05 PM with the headline "How bad is the coronvirus? We need more testing to really know | Letter to the editor."