ERIE COUNTY, N.Y. — The Erie County Department of Health announced Friday that more people can now get tested for COVID-19 in Erie County.
The test will now be available to any symptomatic person who works in an industry deemed essential by New York State and the Empire Development Corporation.
Previously, testing was prioritized for people working in the healthcare industry or who receive dialysis or infusion therapy.
Kaleida Health also announced Friday morning it they would be including symptomatic essential employees in its testing.
Kaleida is increasing its capacity to 500 people a day. At the two Kaleida testing sites in Amherst and downtown Buffalo, a medical professional will give you the test, and results are expected within two days.
"If somebody fits into one of those categories who can get tested right now? What do they need to do in order to get tested?" asked 2 On Your Side's Kelly Dudzik.
"Yeah, that's a great question. So first of all, they need to contact their primary care doctor. It's important that the people that get tested are screened for the testing that's done. They need to be symptomatic, so have a temperature of 100 or greater, cough, and or shortness of breath. And, we're leaving the primary care doctors up to kind of making those decisions on whether or not a patient needs to be tested," said Dr. David Hughes, Chief Medical Officer of Kaleida Health.
"If somebody is able to get a test because they fall into one of those categories, how do they make an appointment? And also what do they need to bring to the appointment with them?" asked Dudzik.
"Sure, so first of all, you would contact your primary care doctor, and the primary care doctor will walk you through what your symptoms are, and if agreeable, they would write your prescription for the test. You would then go to KaleidaHealth.org on the web, and there is a link there that says COVID testing, and you would walk through a series of questions. And, at the end of that process, which just takes a couple of minutes, they would set you up with a time and place to go have your sample tested. And, that's basically a drive thru process once you're scheduled," says Dr. Hughes.
Quest Diagnostics can now test up to 250 people a day at the Walmart in Cheektowaga. When we checked Friday, a full line of cars was there with people waiting. A state trooper told us 190 people made appointments for Friday.
A spokesperson for Roswell Park told 2 On Your Side it is doing in-house testing for patients and staff. Roswell's capacity is expected to be 80 tests a day by next week.
To get tested through the Erie County Department of Health, symptomatic essential employees can call (716) 858-2929 and choose option two to begin the testing process.
You do not need a doctor referral to get tested through Erie County, but the county still encourages symptomatic individuals to contact their healthcare provider, or to contact the health department to get a referral to a provider.
If you are scheduled for testing, Erie County will provide your with isolation information when you are tested.
Essential workers can include (but aren't limited to) people who work in pharmacies, grocery stores, transportation, food processing, building cleaning or maintenance, child care, gas stations, convenience stores, hardware stores and auto repair shops.
For a full list of industries deemed essential, click here.