COVID19 Testing in New York City: An Eyewitness Account

New York continues to face the onslaughts of Novel Coronavirus. Healthcare sector is in complete disarray. Following is an eyewitness account from a suspect COVID19 patient from New York City. She writes the following for TheNewsNYC - 

I’m not well. And most probably have COVID19. 

My symptoms first started showing on March 9th. Since then, I have not gotten over my breathing difficulty and extreme fatigue. My fever & sore throat symptoms have somewhat subsided, although I still remain around 100.4 F every now and then. My aim is to get a doctor to prescribe me something that will ease my breathing issue so I can get back to some normalcy.

My primary care physician has noted that I may have contracted COVID-19, after listening to my symptoms. I have tried for several days to get tested for COVID-19, but it has not been possible. Local urgent care nor emergency rooms have the testing available for someone with my symptoms. My primary care finally issued me a referral to get testing done at either Beth Israel-Mt Sinai in Manhattan or NY Presbyterian in Flushing emergency room. When I contacted 311 to request for testing through NYC HHS, I was not successful in getting the approval nor guidance on testing till now. As per advise, I’m self isolating at this time and treating myself as if I’ve the flu. And I’ll not be stepping out of my apartment unless I’ve to. I’m anxious about my husband and child. And of course the fear that I might have put the people I traveled with and at my workplace building at risk, if, in fact, I have COVID-19.

When my breathing issues, fever & chills didn’t resolve, and since neither the Urgent Care doctor nor my Primary Care physician are willing to give me any medication (as they are not sure how my body will react if I do have COVID19), I finally made my way to the New York Presbyterian with a referral for their Emergency Room to get tested, so I did.

I had to wait at least for 4 hours, to be seen by a doctor at the Emergency Room. For the first 3 hours, I had to wait with 30 other patients with Covid19 symptoms in a small basement room. It was a confinement of sort, but made no sense at all. Considering that none of us had yet tested positive, I was shocked to notice how recklessly they had organized the place - none of us had any social distancing among us, contrary to all the claims they were making on the national and local media about its utmost significance. And waiting in such a chamber for three hours is a horror in itself. If we cannot feel safe and cared for within a hospital setting, where else to look for it then? 

New York has not yet reached the peak. And if we are unable to accord a safe place for suspect patients at this stage, what lies ahead of us has already got me wondering. Anyway, I digress.

While I was waiting in the room with 30 other people and in a room without any ventilation (and no privacy either - we could hear patient-doctor conversations over an intercom), I was constantly chatting with my family who were waiting downstairs at the lobby. Of course as a suspect who is feeling fatigued, I was not expected to simply arrive here without any help. And yet, my husband and my 9-yr old daughter shouldn't have been expected to spend several hours inside a hospital setting when they have displayed no symptoms. There was no justification for everything that was happening at that time.

Anyway, after the passage of the three hours which seemed endless, I was asked to wait in another room by myself for at least one more hour for a doctor. But after all that wait, a Physician Assistant came in, checked my lungs and said my lungs are clear, so they will not test me (as they are saving the few testing kits they have for the patients with life-threatening symptoms), but he said, I most likely have COVID-19, and that I must self-quarantine for 14-days. 

I of course got very upset, and that didn't help as I also got a headache from this frustrating experience...lol.

Anyways this is the reality of what is going on in New York. Three months into the pandemic and even the biggest privatized hospitals of the world don’t have testing kits. All they are interested in is collecting numerous data from patients but are unable to be upfront about the reality that they cannot test nor can they prescribe any medication whatsoever to alleviate the pain. I am relying on Tylenol, fluid & rest, in the meantime. Only good thing is that I’m able to walk to bathroom without gasping for air today So, I guess I am just going to console myself into thinking I am getting better.

Two days ago, I had gone to City MD Urgent Care and whereas I did not have to wait for very long there, they collected all information assuming I had COVID19 and yet did not administer any test whatsoever. They too did not have a doctor on duty for me. Their PA told me “we cannot discharge you without first doing X-ray.” I was perplexed. How will they discharge me if I have not even been admitted. Anyway, they had their way and got my chest X-ray and EKG done. Luckily, I have a very fine health insurance. Most people will probably go into heavy medical debts during this season. The government is saying they will forgive COVID19 testing - they have no word on X-rays and EKG. Regardless I had made the co-pay and left disappointed. When I got an appointment for NYP Emergency Room, I was thrilled. But it was short-lived. 

One more aspect about the NYP ER - almost everyone who waited with me there that day were working class people. I am just assuming it of course. And many were needing translators too. And most of them were actually young. Two of them were creating a TikTok video to kill time… 

I am 43. Most of them were appearing to be between 20 and 40. If the State does not even test young people, how will the COVID19 data become reliable? Without that, how will the treatments begin? Or, when? 

In the meantime, I cannot emphasize enough - please do not go out. If you must go out, please wear a mask, or at least cover your nose and mouth with whatever you can. The government is still very much unprepared to tackle the virus, and so are the most reputed medical institutes.

I'm sure my family already got it from me. I can wait for their symptoms to appear. Or, like the state of our healthcare sector, maybe their symptoms won’t appear to the outside even as they already got sick.

And now…the wait!