Woman with Coronavirus symptoms claims she was told that she doesn't qualify for testing

A Seattle woman recently took to Twitter to document her many failed attempts to get tested for the COVID-19 after she'd been experiencing symptoms of the disease. The woman—who has a history of chronic bronchitis—recounted how even primary care doctors couldn't help her get tested and how even the coronavirus hotline wasn't of much help. Her now-viral Twitter thread shocked many as it came as a wake-up call that getting tested for the virus is close to impossible in the country at this time with there being a major lack of information.

I live in Seattle, I have all symptoms of COVID-19 and have a history of chronic bronchitis. Since I work in a physical therapy clinic with many 65+ patients and those with chronic illnesses, I decided to be responsible and go to get tested. This is how that went, Twitter user Into The Brush began. I called the Corona hotline, was on hold for 40 minutes and gave up. So I looked at the CDC and Washington public health websites. They told me to see a primary care doctor, but there's no information about testing.

I called 2 primary care doctors. One told me they don't know where to get testing, and that I should not seek out testing. The other one told me to go to an urgent care or ER. I called the Urgent Care, they also had no idea where tests are, but told me to call the hospital, she continued. I called the hospital. They do not have tests, but transferred me to the COVID-19 hotline to "answer my questions". Since I was transferred on a medical provider line, I actually got through. Progress! Although she finally managed to get through to a hotline operator, it wasn't much help as she was told that she doesn't qualify for testing.

The lady with the hotline was very kind and professional and understood my concern about my own health and those at my clinic. (Which is currently being sanitized). However, I was told I do not qualify for testing. And I was not given a timeline or info on current resources, the woman tweeted. So. Who does qualify? Those who have been out of the country in the last 14 days, and those who have had contact with one of the few people who have been tested and come up positive. That's it.

The only way I can get treated is if my symptoms get so bad I develop pneumonia or bronchitis, which is very likely in my case. Then I'll be in the ER and quarantined for several days while waiting for a test and for the results to come back. This is all incredibly frustrating because I am trying to do everything right in a system that punishes moments of "weakness" like taking days off. It's also scary to know that I won't be able to get help until I need life support. To sum up: this is not contained. No one knows what the f**k is happening. I can't work. WASH YOUR F***ING HANDS, she concluded.

This viral Twitter thread comes at a time when officials are recommending that residents of Seattle and surrounding communities who are 60 or older or have underlying health conditions remain in their homes. According to the New York Times, Patty Hayes—director for public health for Seattle and King County—said that the regional health care system is “under incredible stress right now" and that there's the need to "slow the spread of disease to the point where our health care system can continue to handle the load." With Washington State being the focal point of the virus in the United States, how the state handles the epidemic could dictate how other states choose to tackle the outbreak.