Haru Coryne is a data reporter for ProPublica.
After multiple calls, to Coryne's surprise he was able to get tested, highlighting how the standard for who gets tested for the virus remains confusing and inconsistent.The question of who can get tested for COVID-19 has centered on persistent issues of inequality in access to health care. Every day, celebrities and professional athletes share their diagnoses as reports continue of delays for nearly everyone else.
I found a number on the Illinois Department of Public Health's coronavirus webpage and called. The operator asked if I'd come into direct contact with the person who tested positive. I said no. After reassuring me that my exposure seemed "pretty tertiary," she took my number and told me to call the Chicago hotline instead.
I found a doctor online, picking more or less at random from the four within walking distance who took my insurance: a specialist in sports medicine. The earliest available appointment was the next day. I wrote in the comment box that I was hoping to get a referral for a coronavirus test. To my surprise, a nurse brought me into an evaluation room right away and explained that the test could be done on-site, if the doctor decided I was a candidate for it. There was no need to go anywhere else.
The doctor left, and another nurse came in with three instruments. "This is for corona," she said, holding one of them up and explaining that she'd be using it to swab the back of my throat. Another one of the throat swabs was for strep, she said; the flu test would go up my nose.
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