Instant Urgent Care offers testing for Coronavirus via telemedicine
COVID-19 has emerged as a growing public health crisis. The virus is now a global pandemic.
Instant Urgent Care offers telemedicine consults for patients that need COVID-19 testing. Please book a virtual visit to get started! A provider can evaluate your next steps for care and treatment.
As you may have heard from local news reports, the coronavirus has made its way from mainland China into the U.S from infected travelers. The concerning news of advanced illnesses, deaths, and outbreaks in other parts of the world continue to raise caution within the states as well. However, patients need to take some time to learn the basic facts, avoid misinformation, and effectively determine if they are at risk for the virus.
For local communities, the coronavirus is not an immediate health threat. Government officials from HHS, CDC, and other federal organizations established protocols that quarantined travelers and reduced risks of widespread infection.
At Instant Urgent Care, we want to make sure that you have all the available resources from leading healthcare organizations to get the facts straight about the virus. Use the buttons below to find resources from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), and from local news sources. We’ll also provide a list of frequently asked questions about the coronavirus and how it impacts you.
Instant Urgent Care provide testing for coronavirus. If you have been exposed to coronavirus, traveled to a country with travel restrictions or have been in direct contact with an individual from a country experiencing a high degree of outbreak, or If you exhibit shortness of breath, high fever or persistent, dry cough please call us or book a telemedicine appointment.
COVID-19 Prevention for Patients:
COVID-19 is spreading at an extreme pace throughout the United States. As patient education expands, the team at Instant Urgent Care wanted to update our local neighborhoods about prevention skills that can help reduce the spread of the disease. Per the CDC:
Stay home if you’re sick
Cover coughs and sneezes
Wear a facemask if you are sick
Clean and disinfect everyday
Practice social distancing: Only go out when absolutely necessary and keep at least six feet from others when possible.
In addition, if you need healthcare please consult Instant Urgent Care’s telemedicine and virtual medical visit portal to get primary care, urgent care, and pediatric care services as they need it. Our providers aim to provide accessible medical care during challenges with at-home shelter and self-quarantine.
FAQs about COVID-19:
Coronavirus is a type of virus that impacts a patient’s upper respiratory system. Public health officials and the Centers for disease control name the strain detected in Wuhan, China as “2019-nCoV.” According to the CDC, coronaviruses are “a large family of viruses that are common in many different species of animals, including camels, cattle, cats, and bats. Rarely, animal coronaviruses can infect people and then spread between people such as with MERS, SARS, and now with 2019-nCoV.”
A coronavirus is a special virus that spreads within a certain species of animal, which can cause significant respiratory trouble and incredibly harmful results within the same species. nCoV-2019 is an especially rare case of a coronavirus spreading from a foreign animal species to humans.
Symptoms of the cornoavirus begin as any onset acute illness with coughing, sneezing, sinus pain, and congestion. However, patients with the virus soon develop extreme difficulty breathing and fatal respiratory symptoms.
The new coronavirus was found in Wuhan, China, where several patients became infected after the virus spread from an animal reservoir in the county. Some patients were linked to the virus after buying goods and interacting with contaminated foods in a live animal market.
However, international public health agencies have determined that the virus is primarily spread from person-to-person interaction, which has caused a devastating number of cases. In fact, news outlets reported over 1000 deaths and 43,000 worldwide are infected with the virus. In the opening weeks of the pandemic. Cases now total over 200,000 worldwide and counting.
International travelers coming back to their home countries (U.S, United Kingdom, etc.) from Wuhan have been quarantined while cruise ships near main port cities have been stalled due to potential virus risks.
Multiple cases of coronavirus have been reported in the U.S, according to the CDC. Government agencies have developed quarantine zones around major airports where travelers were reported to have the virus.
The CDC and other government agencies are investigating a significant number of cases as of 3-24-2020. Patients that are exposed to the virus are under quarantine and have not been allowed back into local communities.
All 50 states have reported several cases of the disease with more on the horizon as the virus continues to spread. More are likely to report cases based on CDC and WHO estimates.
UPDATE: New reports suggest that Santa Clara county has as many as 361 patients have COVID-19 – 3-24-2020
Recent reports from local news outlets such as The Mercury News said that Santa Clara health officials have declared a state of emergency due to potential coronavirus cases in the state.
Public health officials explained that a man and a woman traveling back from Wuhan, China were isolated from the community and tested positive for the virus. The state of California now can provide emergency funding in the event that the virus spreads, but experts say that the risk to the public is still minimal as the two patients are under quarantine in their private residence.
New developments suggest that Santa Clara county and Alameda county are at significant risk for a mass outbreak for COVID-19 with more and more cases being reported. Most schools and public buildings have been shut down for the next few weeks.
Patients that believe they have the virus or traveled to an area contaminated by the virus should immediately contact emergency services. These patients will likely need to be tested, triaged, and quarantined by public health officials.
Additionally, the CDC suggests that patients take the following steps to keep themselves healthy, reduce fear about the virus, and effectively determine if they have a serious infection or if they just have the flu:
- It’s currently flu and respiratory disease season and CDC recommends getting a flu vaccine, taking everyday preventive actions to help stop the spread of germs, and taking flu antivirals if prescribed.
- If you are a healthcare provider, be on the look-out for people who recently traveled from China and have fever and respiratory symptoms.
- If you are a healthcare provider caring for a 2019-nCoV patient or a public health responder, please take care of yourself and follow recommended infection control procedures.
- For people who have had close contact with someone infected with 2019-nCoV who develop symptoms, contact your healthcare provider, and tell them about your symptoms and your exposure to a 2019-nCoV patient.
- For people who are ill with 2019-nCoV, please follow CDC guidance on how to reduce the risk of spreading your illness to others. This guidance is on the CDC website.
- Practice social distancing to ensure that neighbors and family members don’t get the virus. This includes avoiding large public gatherings, staying at least six feet away from individuals, and staying at home for work or school when possible.