A little over 2 weeks ago, I did my first COVID test. As expected, I tested negative. I would have been shocked if I tested positive. I don’t really go anywhere or see anyone. I just stay home and be by myself.
I did the test because I wanted to take some extra precautions before seeing my family. The past few times I’ve seen everyone, I just went for the day and spent a few hours. But this time, I was going to be there for a few days and spend the night in the same rental house as my parents. So being extra careful seemed like a smart thing to do.
But as I think most of us know, just because you test positive one day doesn’t mean you will always test positive. From what I have read and been told, the best way to confirm you do not have COVID is to test, then do a quarantine for 2 weeks, and then test again. Because you tend to test positive within 14 days of exposure, this would be as close to a guarantee as you can get that you haven’t been exposed and are an asymptomatic carrier. So that’s exactly what I planned to do.
Originally, I was going to do the second test exactly 14 days later. But after seeing how things were looking regarding the election, I did it a day early. I didn’t think this was a big deal since leading up to the original test I hadn’t been out doing anything so I already had been doing a bit of a quarantine.
Just like the first time, getting an appointment was very simple. It was almost easier this time because I was able to find an appointment that was the same day that I was looking online! It was only 30 minutes from the time I was searching, so it was perfect. I had enough time to get registered to be tested, get my things together, and drive over to the testing location.
I decided to go to the same testing site as before since I knew where it was and it was pretty much the closest location that I could go to (unless I could get an appointment at my hospital, but I didn’t even try that this time). And just like before, there was a pretty long line of cars when I got there. This time, I remembered to look at my car so I could track how long the line of cars was from start to finish. It was a little over a mile, which is what I had guessed it was last time. And like before, the line moved really quickly so it was done before I knew it.
It was the same procedure as last time except for this time I didn’t have someone telling me exactly how to swab my mouth for the test. I could have had that, but I didn’t feel like I needed it and I wanted them to be able to help the people in the car behind me to make the line move as quickly as possible. It’s not that difficult, but I did review all the instructions before I drove to the appointment so I knew I was sure about exactly what to do.
I dropped the test in the collection container when I was done and I was on my way home. From the time I got into the line at the testing location to the time I was getting back on the freeway to go home, it was less than 45 minutes. I know that not all testing sites are like this, but hopefully they can become more and more efficient as they have them set up. I know the LA ones were not this fast when they started. It took time to get the system working the best way possible but now it’s super easy.
And I’m glad it’s easy because at least for now, getting tested is going to be a part of normal life. I don’t expect to do this on a very regular basis unless I need to for a job, but it shouldn’t be a big deal to get tested if you feel like you might have been exposed or you want to be extra careful.
It took a little more than 24 hours this time to get my results emailed to me, but they were just what I expected.
Even though I wasn’t that nervous that it would be any different, it is still a relief to know that I’m healthy and that I was good to go with seeing my family. I don’t want to worry I might get anyone sick, and now I can feel pretty certain that won’t happen. I know nothing is a guarantee, but then again, it never is. Even for other sicknesses like having a cold or something, you can always pass it on to someone even if you don’t know you are sick. But I’m doing everything I can to make sure I’m ok and that’s all I can really do for now.
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