Urgent care and doctor’s visits may take more time than usual

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) - If you are going to an urgent care facility with what you think might be a normal illness, prepare for the visit to take longer than normal.

Even if you think you haven’t been exposed to COVID-19, you may be tested anyway.

The list of symptoms for COVID-19 is so long that many healthcare providers want to make sure they double check.

From a fever to a light cough, gastrointestinal issues or even a sore throat, it might be something that you seek out care for twice a year.

But it’s 2020, and with COVID-19 lurking, urgent care facilities and doctor’s offices may want to test you just in case.

Depending on where you go, that may mean you need to quarantine until you get the results back, which can be a few days if the facility doesn’t have rapid testing.

“At this point, we can expect more testing to be done because first of all, we don’t want to miss a case of COVID and it also guides us on potential management if patients have underlying health problems,” said Dr. Karen Landers of the ADPH.

She says testing like this will help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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