COVID-19 testing in Park City headed indoors this week as the state continues to struggle so get the current surge in cases under control. We have details on when, where, and why you should get tested.
The current Utah COVID-19 spike continued this week with another record-setting day on Thursday with 1,501 new cases reported by the Utah Department of Health. An additional 1,343 cases were reported on Friday.
Utah’s current surge in cases began last month as schools were returning to in-person learning across much of the state. The majority of early cases were from the 15-24 year old demographic.
Health experts say hospitalizations are rising as older relatives of young people infected with the disease have become sick themselves.
Dr. Wing Provence is the Medical Director of Intermountain Healthcare’s Park City Hospital and told KPCW with colder weather fast approaching, this spike is of particular concern.
“It is alarming, isn’t it?” He said. “I remember back in the spring, we would be alarmed if we got over three or four hundred and now, here we are at 1,500. I think one reason for alarm is that this is a time of year when it’s warm outside that we should be getting our numbers under control and seeing a decrease in our numbers in preparation for the winter months when we can’t social distance as well, be outside, and enjoy the outdoors. I think it is a cause for concern, particularly when you see hospitalizations going up.”
In an effort to improve local COVID-19 testing, Intermountain Healthcare announced this week that two Park City testing locations have moved indoors as winter approaches.
The Intermountain Park City Hospital’s Blair Education Center in Park City and the University of Utah Health Redstone Health Center in Kimball Junction are now indoor testing locations.
Dr. Provence says this move indoors is necessary to protect caregivers as the temperatures drop.
“What we’re trying to do is to make our testing more comfortable and more convenient for the community,” explained Provence. “And just thinking about the folks who are going to be out there doing this throughout the winter months, we wanted to bring it into the indoors at least so we can keep our caregivers warm.”
The Intermountain Hospital location allows drive-ups, while the Redstone Health Center will require a reservation.
A new testing method is also available now, with saliva samples taking the place of the nasal swabs in use since the beginning of the pandemic. Notoriously uncomfortable, the nasal swab is now replaced by a 3 milliliter sample of saliva deposited in a test tube. Provence says it’s important to not eat or drink 30 minutes prior to giving a saliva sample, otherwise the sample may not be usable.
Although testing will be free, Provence says patients will have to obtain an order to be tested either by calling ahead to the testing center, going to their primary care physician, or receiving one in-person at the testing location. Getting an in-person order may cause an additional wait.
Provence says patients experiencing symptoms should be tested immediately. If you believe you have been exposed to the virus but are not experiencing symptoms, he says the disease can take five to seven days after exposure to produce enough virus to develop symptoms or be detected by a test.
The worst thing you can do, he says, is refuse a test if you are feeling sick.
“I’ve heard a lot of folks say that they don’t want to go get tested because they know they’re positive or they don’t want to add to the numbers that are being reported and create a quote ‘big deal about this,’” he said. “It’s really, really important that if you have symptoms or you feel like you’ve been exposed to get tested. If we allow this to get out of control because people are refusing to get tested, particularly those who may be symptomatic and are not quarantining, that’s how we’re going to lose a lot of the freedoms that we enjoyed in the pre-COVID era.”
Patients who want a COVID-19 test should first call the Intermountain Healthcare’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-844-442-5224. You can also call the University of Utah Health’s COVID-19 hotline at 1-801-587-0712 or 1-844-745-9325.
More information can be found at intermountainhealthcare.org or healthcare.utah.edu.
