MACON, Ga. — At Coliseum Health Center, anyone who walks through the doors for the foreseeable future will be asked a list of questions.
- Have you had a temperature in the last 2 weeks?
- Are you short of breath?
- Do you have an active cough?
- Have you traveled outside the country to an area where coronavirus is common?
- Have you been in contact with anyone who has coronavirus?
Coliseum Chief Medical Officer Richard Rubio says it's a preventative measure to keep out anyone with coronavirus, or virus-like-symptoms.
"We're doing this in an abundance of caution to protect our patients, our visitors, and our employees," says Rubio.
North Central Health District spokesman Michael Hokanson says if you think you may have coronavirus or been exposed to someone with the illness, you can get swabbed at your primary physician or hospital, but make sure you let them know you're coming.
"Please call in advance. Let them know so they can protect everybody in that building," says Hokanson.
A doctor or nurse will take a nasal swab and then consult an epidemiologist to determine if the sample should be sent to a lab for testing.
"After they've spoken to a medical epidemiologist and confirmed that, yes, this is a person that should get testing, they'll take that swab. The swab will then be sent off to the labs where testing will be done," says Hokanson.
The samples are then sent to the Georgia Public Health Lab and verified by the CDC.
But at a hospital in north Georgia, a woman tested prescriptively positive this week for COVID-19, after returning to Floyd Medical Center for a second time.
According to the Floyd Medical Center, the 46-year old woman first went to the hospital February 29th but was released when she didn't meet COVID-19 testing criteria. During that visit, they say she was screened according to the CDC and Department of Public Health guidelines. She was treated and released, but came back three days later when her symptoms got worse. Still, she did not meet the criteria for testing, but the staff made the decision to admit her.
On Wednesday, the CDC updated its guidelines to say local health authorities should use their judgment on whether to test people who appear to have the COVID-19 symptoms.
"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. Decisions on which patients receive testing should be based on the local epidemiology of COVID-19, as well as the clinical course of illness. Most patients with confirmed COVID-19 have developed fever1 and/or symptoms of acute respiratory illness (e.g., cough, difficulty breathing). Clinicians are strongly encouraged to test for other causes of respiratory illness, including infections such as influenza." (Centers for Disease Control)
No cases of coronavirus have been reported to the North Central Health District as of March 6, 2020.
RELATED: Coronavirus live updates: Pence pledges 'full support' to Washington state in coronavirus fight
STAY ALERT | Download our FREE app now to receive breaking news and weather alerts. You can find the app on the Apple Store and Google Play.
STAY UPDATED | Click here to subscribe to our Midday Minute newsletter and receive the latest headlines and information in your inbox every day.
Have a news tip? Email news@13wmaz.com, or visit our Facebook page.