Prevention measures such as these will help keep people healthy, protect higher-risk individuals from becoming exposed, and will slow the rate of infection in our communities.
Not everyone who experiences symptoms needs to be tested.
For now, access to testing for coronavirus is currently limited to those among us with certain key risk factors and who are experiencing the most severe symptoms.
Hospitals are coordinating with the Arkansas Department of Health and building connections with private laboratories to have high-priority patients receive testing.
While widespread testing is not yet available, if you are experiencing symptoms but not having a medical emergency, please call your primary care provider or contact one of the screening and testing sites listed below.
Not everyone who gets COVID-19 will be critically ill (but they will be contagious).
In fact, most individuals who contract COVID-19 will experience relatively mild symptoms, but some patients – especially older individuals and those who have other diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, or respiratory disease – are at high risk of complications and may need hospital-level care.
Unless you are experiencing a medical emergency, please do not go to the emergency department of your local hospital.
For our response to this outbreak to be both efficient and effective, hospitals must be able to: 1) deliver expedient care to those who need it, 2) protect our most vulnerable patients, and 3) keep our hardworking health care providers healthy.
With an overabundance of information out there, go directly to trusted sources for news and updates.
See links in the right sidebar for links to the CDC, WHO, and the Arkansas Department of Health.