A man getting a Coronavirus test. © Raimond Spekking / CC BY-SA 4.0.
As you may or not know I work in a critical industry that has had an outbreak of Coronavirus disease. We are one of the many companies in the region that has had this problem and as a precaution the company is testing all employees.
This means I had to get a test today. I am pretty sure I don't have the disease currently as I haven't shown any symptoms (though like most people I tend to think I had the virus months ago), but the company needs to know what the extent of the problem is and if there are any asymptomatic carriers, which I could of course be one of. I think a universal testing in this situation was justified so the people who don't know they have the virus don't spread it to others.
A quick note, I don't know how universal my situation was. I know that there are different ways to test for the virus and you should understand that just because my test was done a certain way it doesn't mean that any test you have to take will be the same. And this is obviously very different from the anti-body tests which involve a blood draw and tell you if you have ever had the virus. They are looking for currently active SARS-CoV-2 viral particles.
Our test was one of the "drive through" tests that have been rolled out across the country. I pulled up in my car, waited a while and I filled out a form. The form was mostly about contact information but they did ask me if I had any of the following symptoms: Fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle pain, loss of smell/taste or sore throat. I answered no to all of those questions.
When I pulled up to the testing area I was handed some tissue and was told to blow my nose. Then a nurse in the "moon suit" swabbed my nose. Unlike the test in the above picture this test was not one where they stick the swab all the way up your nostril until it hits the back of your throat. Instead it was just four quick swabs inside each of my nostrils. It was uncomfortable to be sure but I am very glad that it wasn't the more extensive and uncomfortable deep swabbing! I should get the results in 1-3 days.
Overall, it wasn't too bad to go through. I know a lot of people are spooked by the test but in my case it was pretty easy. It wasn't something I enjoyed but it was pretty painless. If you have to get tested I don't think you should worry too much about it. I don't know if they are still using the older deep swap type tests but this version of the test was just uncomfortable, not horrible.
I think the worst thing about this is waiting for results. I know I am a bit nervous about the results and I have no reason to think that I am sick at all. I can't imagine what the people that actually have symptoms are going through waiting for their results. It's going to be a long couple of days until they call me with the results.
If I do test positive though I think it will mean one of three things. The most likely is that I'm an asymptomatic carrier. I feel fine and if I have the virus my immune system is handling it. The 2nd possibility is that it's a false positive. These tests aren't perfect and there are always a few false positives (and false negatives).
The third scenario is the most concerning, I could have the virus but still be in the pre-symptomatic phase. That means I could be getting very sick pretty soon. However, I think this is unlikely. I don't think I have had any contact with the virus and even if I did I'm young and healthy enough that I have little reason to believe that my immune system couldn't beat it back fairly easily.
Still, no matter what the result, it will be a bit of peace of mind to know for sure. If I test negative I can at least know that I'm not a super-spreader getting everyone else sick (even though I barely see anyone these days even at work). If I test positive at least I know that I won't have to worry about catching it anymore. Either way it will be a load off my mind.
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