LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:
We begin today with a look at testing in this country. As the coronavirus continues to spread, getting tested for the disease here is still hard. Consider two different stories. One is from Ashley Kiker. She lives in Houston. She began having symptoms on March 16, so she went to an urgent care clinic, where she tested negative for the flu. But when she asked to take a COVID-19 test...
ASHLEY KIKER: They said they weren't going to test me there because I was young and, you know, I don't have any risk factors.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: The next day, a friend told her about some community health centers in Houston that were offering free testing. They asked her the usual questions - her symptoms, if she'd traveled to China recently, if she'd been in contact with anyone who had COVID-19.
KIKER: I didn't know if I'd come in contact with someone. But the guy was kind of hinting, like, if you say that, then I can push you forward for a test.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: She got the test and waited for two weeks to hear back.
KIKER: I mean, there's so much uncertainty right now. And so then waiting on this test was just another layer of uncertainty.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Finally, the results came back. She was positive. Ashley was then told that she would hear from the Houston Health Department within a week. It took them three weeks to reach her - this past Wednesday. By then, Ashley had already recovered.
So that was a case from last month. But what about testing now? Let's hear from Grace Belmont of Roxbury, Mass.
GRACE BELMONT: I had been ill for a while. It started with a sore throat and moved into my lungs and increasing fatigue. And throughout that process, I sought out testing and was repeatedly told no.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: When her symptoms worsened, she ended up in the emergency room.
BELMONT: And by that time, I realized I needed to lie in order to get tested. So I said that I had had a fever, which I had not had. And they - because of my - all my other symptoms, I was finally able to get a test.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: She said the doctor seemed nervous, quickly testing just one side and not sticking the swab very far back. The test was negative, but she continued to get sicker.
BELMONT: It was very alarming to find my health going downhill at a rapid clip and not being able to get any help. And the doctors, I could tell, were also very frustrated with the restrictions that had been put on them as well.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: That was early April. Just this past week, she got tested again, and it was a much different experience.
BELMONT: My doctor was able to request a test. I went to a designated COVID hospital. I met with a trained nurse who reported that he did approximately 70 tests a day. He had a lot of experience.
GARCIA-NAVARRO: Again, the test was negative, but Grace continues to have severe symptoms. So not quite trusting the result, she is keeping her distance from her family just in case she does have the coronavirus. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
