Health director urges caution, protecting others
Everyone can now be tested for COVID-19 (coronavirus), with or without symptoms, following Gov. Brian Kemp’s announcement last Thursday.
Gov. Kemp opened the gates wide at a press conference May 7.
“I think people should recognize the virus is not going away,” said Zachary Taylor, MD, MS, director of the North Georgia Health District. “I don’t think we should let up on what we are doing to protect each other.”
Information about the new testing requirements were listed on the North Georgia Health District website at www.nghd.org. Testing is free, but people must register by calling 1-888-881-1474.
Gilmer County’s testing site is at the ETC Pavilion on Legion Road. It is open from 9 a.m. to noon. A pop-up testing site has opened in Fannin County from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
People need to register to be tested if they have symptoms, are medical workers or first responders, are working in front-line jobs such as in a grocery store or driving a truck, Taylor said.
In general, if people don’t have symptoms, testing won’t tell them much, he said.
“It’s up to the individual [whether to get tested], though,” he said. “It is a personal decision.”
If a person is asymptomatic, meaning they don’t show any symptoms of the coronavirus, they could still be spreading infection. A test would let them know to quarantine.
“We don’t even really know what segment of the population that fits,” he said.
A negative test does not mean the person is all clear. It only means they did not have the virus during the test, they may still catch the virus.
“I don’t want people thinking, ‘I am negative, I am free and clear,’” Taylor said.
Labs are still backed up, he said, and test results are taking two to four days.
Priority will still be given to people with symptoms or anyone who belongs to a select group which includes healthcare workers, first responders, law enforcement officials, those who live or work in a long-term care facility or someone who works in a critical infrastructure job, which include grocery stores, truckers or utility workers.
Taylor said people still need to take precautions against spreading the virus, whether they have symptoms or not.
He encourages people to wear masks in public places, continue to social distance, wash hands and clean surfaces at work and home regularly.
Using these methods people can work to balance opening the economy with protecting each other from the virus.
“By wearing a mask, they are taking responsibility to protect people around them,” Taylor said.
“It is an effort for us to say to the community, and for the community to say, we are wearing this mask to take care of each other.”
Spreading the virus hurt the people who are elderly or who have chronic conditions, he said. Eventually, these people come in contact with someone who is caring for them in some way.
As of Tuesday morning, Gilmer County was listed as having 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 15 hospitalizations and no deaths on the Georgia Department of Public Health website. Georgia is listed as having 34,635 confirmed cases with 6,130 hospitalizations and 1,461 deaths.