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You’re right, it’s not much testing, but Hawaii isn’t the only state with such poor availability:
But the majority of Americans still cannot get tested, as interviews with doctors, patients, and dozens of state public-health officials reveal. While the most stringent federal guidelines are gone, a chaotic patchwork of rules now governs who can and cannot get a COVID-19 test. In many states, symptomatic patients still cannot get tested for the coronavirus unless they meet certain limited criteria—even if their doctor wants to test them.
Those criteria mean that the cases most crucial to understanding the spread of the pandemic may never be discovered. In at least 13 states, the rules effectively discourage doctors from testing patients who have no known ties to existing cases—exactly the kind of “community case” that would signal that the pandemic has reached a dangerous new stage in a city or region, and that the virus is now spreading among strangers.
The rules are set by states, counties, and cities, as well as by individual hospitals and health systems. And while many are based on guidelines published by the CDC, their enforcement can vary profoundly on a state-by-state, and even hospital-by-hospital, basis.
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/arch...us/607999/
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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A bit of good news:
"The Hawai‘i Department of Health tested 31 random samples from labs across the state, and all 31 came back negative for COVID-19"
https://bigislandnow.com/2020/03/13/comm...ndetected/
Certainty will be the death of us.
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31 random samples from labs across the state... all 31 negative...
Consider these numbers:
Ohio’s top health official said she projects that 100,000 people in the state already are carrying the novel coronavirus.
Dr. Amy Acton, director of the Ohio Department of Health, said in a new conference Thursday the virus is already in the population.
“I know this is hard,” Acton said, “because this virus is among us, but we can’t see it yet.”
Ohio officials said five people in the state have tested positive for COVID-19.
https://www.wdrb.com/news/ohio-s-top-hea...37ee4.html
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
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Two more confirmed cases on Kauai today. One more on Oahu. No tests pending (no new tests have been submitted????) All previous test results are back and negative. Second batch of random tests are all negative.
https://health.hawaii.gov/news/corona-vi...h-14-2020/
ETA: new confirmed case on Oahu released after the daily update.
Certainty will be the death of us.
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Drive Through COVID-19 Testing on Big Island
(Read full article at link for important details)
Hilo Medical Center on Tuesday will open a COVID-19 drive-through area to collect samples to be sent away for testing.
Located adjacent to HMC’s Hawaii Pacific Oncology Center, across from the hospital on Waianuenue Avenue, the drive-through will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays.
HMC will assess hours of operation based on demand and access to tests, Brinkman said.
Brinkman said HMC has limited testing supplies at this time, “which is why we’re going to start slow this week and hopefully supplies will catch up … .”
To be screened, patients must have a order for testing from their physician which must be presented at the testing site. Patients also should bring their ID and insurance card. The samples will be taken via swabs.
https://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/202...-negative/
"I'm at that stage in life where I stay out of discussions. Even if you say 1+1=5, you're right - have fun." - Keanu Reeves
To be screened, patients must have a order for testing from their physician which must be presented at the testing site. Patients also should bring their ID and insurance card. The samples will be taken via swabs.
According to Brinkman, offering drive-through testing is a way to stay vigilant and find out whether the virus is circulating in the community.
There's one little wrinkle in this plan.. and yeah I agree any testing is better than no testing and drive through is great, but..
Why can't the doctor that the patient has to see in order to get a referral to be tested in the first place just do the test already. Especially when any excess movement of people already having symptoms is more movement than is best for the wellbeing of all involved.
It is obvious, our government has failed us. Our country's endless arguments about healthcare has failed us. Our consumer oriented market driven societal model is broken in any situation that involves all of us.
But no, ask our governor. There is nothing more important, nothing more sacred, than the almighty tourist dollar. Ask the prez, who cares more about his stock portfolio than our wellbeing. Or, hey, ask Harry, who is probably too far into dementia to know what is going on at all...
Yep, drive through testing is great. I suppose we should be glad we have any testing at all.
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must have a order for testing from their physician which must be presented at the testing site
The bs problem is that the physicians are not ordering the tests still (constant pointing to a lack of sufficient symptoms as provided in their guidance from the CDC). There is a serious blame game going on in which everyone is pointing the finger somewhere else while the cases multiply.
University of Washington went outside the CDC/FDA rules to create their own test and that's how they found their cases of community spread. Doesn't look like that's going to happen here...
The system has strung everyone out on a line - CYA!
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I barely even pay attention to the testing the same way I didn't pay attention to the numbers coming out of China, a country that cannot be trusted to tell the truth. Who wants to go to the doctors office here on the Big Island when sick with flu or corona virus? And cough on everyone there? Get out of bed with a fever? Why can't people just order their own test?
Then the tests have proven to be quite flawed. I challenge the currently held theory that there are no antibodies and a person can reinfect over and over. Bad testing and perhaps the recovery period is dotted with times the patient appears to be clear of the virus.
I just think the numbers have been so unreliable regarding the corona virus they could be misleading, and dangerously so. And again too many contributing factors not being figured into the calculations.
For example italy has over 100,000 immigrants, mostly illegal from Wuhan there to work in the "Made in Italy" clothing industry. And they fly back and forth, because it's all about the tag, then the product goes back to China. Many of the Italian cases could have originated in Wuhan which throws a monkey wrench in calculating how the virus spread there.
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"Please post gripes elsewhere. It would be nice to keep this to information only"
Certainty will be the death of us.
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kalianna, I respect your interest in data only, but it's past that point. Feel free to keep tracking the testing number but it's too little too late as the tests tell you what things may have looked like last week, before the 4x growth of the cases in reality. Sincere best wishes, I won't muck up the info stream of interest here going forward.
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