Coronavirus Testing | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

    Beaufort County Health Department is not providing community testing due to limited supplies. Most medical providers in the county can conduct the COVID-19 test.

    Not everyone should be tested. If a person is sick, they should assume they may have COVID-19 or another communicable disease, and stay home until they are fever-free for 3 days and have been in self-isolation for at least seven days. If their symptoms worsen, then they should contact their provider to see if additional medical attention is needed.

    There is no treatment for COVID-19. A positive test will not impact medical management for most people with COVID-19. Testing should be used when conditions are more severe and the diagnosis needs to be ruled out. Commercial lab testing is still available for those providers needing this information.

    Alternative surveillance tools will be used to track the spread in our county. Tracking only lab-confirmed cases is not a reliable or accurate way to understand the pandemic; therefore, the health department will use influenza surveillance tools designed to track widespread respiratory illness.

    People infected with COVID-19 coming out to be tested may spread illness to others in the community, including those at higher risk of complications, and health care workers. Also, people who are not infected with COVID-19 can become so when seeking testing, especially at health care sites. This is why we advise sick people to stay home when sick and for healthy people to only go out for necessary trips (ex Food, Medications, Doctor's Appointment).

• James Madson
• Health Director
• Beaufort County Health Department
• 1420 Highland Dr
• Washington, N.C. 27889
• Office: (252) 940-6533
• Cell: (252) 702-0858