Get tested once a month for COVID-19, new DHEC recommendations say
South Carolina health officials issued new guidance for coronavirus testing Monday, including a recommendation that most people, especially if they frequently are around others, get tested at least once a month.
The Department of Health and Environmental Control’s guidance, which was updated to mirror changes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made in mid-September, also includes new recommendations for testing people who have been in close contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
People who come in close contact with people exhibiting coronavirus symptoms should now get tested for COVID-19, even if they are not exhibiting symptoms of the virus, DHEC officials said.
Health officials stressed the new guidelines are important because many people who contract COVID-19 are asymptomatic, including children who they recommend get tested.
“Children may have mild symptoms or none at all yet can transmit SARS-CoV-2,” DHEC wrote in a statement. “Testing children who are close contacts or who have symptoms is critical to prevent spread.”
DHEC’s updated guidance comes as the department struggles to increase testing numbers across the state. In September, the health agency reported as few as 3,400 tests performed in one day, and frequently saw fewer than 10,000 tests per day. DHEC only surpassed 20,000 tests on six days in September.
To reach the agency’s goal of testing 500,000 people a month, they would need to test about 16,600 people a day.
Since testing decreased, the number of identified coronavirus cases has decreased and the percentage of tests that are positive, an indicator of the virus’ spread, has fluctuated wildly.
DHEC also stressed the important of community screening, or testing people in the community who may not have any reason to believe they have the coronavirus, but have been out of their homes.
Health officials recommended that most people in the community should be screened for the virus at least monthly using a test that requires saliva a swab from the nose or throat. DHEC officials recommended that blood testing for antibodies should not be used for community screening purposes.
Saliva and nose and throat swab testing is used to diagnose someone with coronavirus, while a blood antibody test can tell if someone has developed antibodies to fight the virus. If someone has antibodies, they may not have an active infection, but may have had one in the past.
People who aren’t experiencing coronavirus symptoms and have not been in close contact with someone who has the virus, but get tested for screening purposes, do not have to isolate at home. DHEC recommends, though, that they continue to wear masks and practice social distancing, staying at least six feet apart from others.
Anyone with a positive coronavirus test should isolate for at least ten days after symptoms subside, DHEC says.
If someone is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, they should get tested and isolate until their test results are returned, and if positive, they should continue to isolate.
As part of the new guidance, state health officials recommended against “repeat testing to end isolation or return or work or school.” Anyone who tests positive should not get tested again in the three months following their diagnosis, DHEC says.
Testing locations can be found on DHEC’s website at scdhec.gov/infectious-diseases/viruses/coronavirus-disease-2019-covid-19/find-covid-19-testing-location.
