Testing

Yes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for an over-the-counter fully at-home diagnostic test for COVID-19. The test is authorized for individuals two years of age or older, including those not showing symptoms.

The home test is a rapid, lateral flow antigen test, a type of test that runs a liquid sample along a surface with reactive molecules. The FDA allows it to be sold in places like drug stores, where a patient can buy it, swab their nose, run the test and find out their results in as little as 20 minutes. 

Individuals with positive results should:

• Self-isolate
• Seek additional care from their health care provider

Individuals who test negative and experience COVID-like symptoms should follow up with their health care provider. It is possible to get a negative test result and still be infected with coronavirus.

For more information, see the FDA news release.

Yes. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for an at-home COVID-19 diagnostic self-test. The authorization is for home use with self-collected nasal swab samples in individuals aged 14 and older. This test is currently authorized for prescription use only. 

The test works by swirling the self-collected sample swab in a vial that is then placed in the test unit. In 30 minutes or less, the results can be read directly from the test unit’s light-up display. 

Individuals with positive results should:

• Self-isolate
• Seek additional care from their health care provider

Individuals who test negative and experience COVID-like symptoms should follow up with their health care provider. It is possible to get a negative test result and still be infected with coronavirus.

For more information, see the FDA news release.

Turnaround time for coronavirus test results is usually less than two days. Approximately two-thirds are returned within a day and more than 85% are available within two days.

This turnaround time includes shipping time. So for labs that process home testing kits, turnaround time may depend on when an individual mails back their kit.

If you haven’t received your test results and it’s been several days, contact your healthcare provider, testing service, or local health department.

Read more at California’s COVID-19 Testing Task Force.

You should get tested if you:

• Had close contact with anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19
• Have COVID-19 symptoms
• Get a call from a contact tracer
• Are at high risk

If you think you may have been exposed, call your doctor.

If you continue to have no symptoms, you can be with others after 10 days have passed since your test.

The CDC has detailed recommendations for people who test positive but have no symptoms.

You should self-isolate from others in your household who have not tested positive. Sleep and stay in a separate room from them, and use a separate bathroom, if possible. Multiple infected people in the same household can use the same room for isolation.

Members of your household should get tested right away. They should quarantine for at least 14 days. Symptoms can develop even after testing negative within 14 days after exposure. Multiple people in the same household should not quarantine in the same room, since some may be infected.

There are two steps to this process: screening and testing. First, you will create an account and take the online screener. If you are eligible, you will get details on how and where to get tested. Once tested, you’ll get an email or phone call with your COVID-19 test results.

Verily needs a way to authenticate and protect user information. They turned to Google for this service, because Google accounts have best-in-class authentication. Simply link to an existing Google account or create a new one (which you can do with any email address). Then Verily can contact you securely during the screening and testing process. All data collected by Verily is kept private and is not linked to a user’s Google account.