NORFOLK, Va. — Doctors with the Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters say lines going into its urgent care centers and emergency rooms are growing longer and longer.
The hospital's Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Director, Dr. Laura Sass, said that with children back in school, more parents are getting their kids tested for COVID-19 in response to any exposure to the virus. She said that is resulting in more parents bringing their children to the urgent care centers and emergency rooms for a COVID-19 test.
Sass said this is only adding to the already long lines.
"Some of the staff weren't able to leave until one or two in the morning because they wanted everyone to be seen," Sass explained. "It's supposed to close at 10 p.m. It's reasonable to think you'll be there for an hour because you're seeing patients, but then hours were going by because people were coming in at 9:30 or 9:45."
She said more children are also experiencing respiratory illnesses other than COVID-19. This is adding to the growing lines and Sass wants parents to know there are other places to get their children tested for the virus.
"There's been some confusion about where parents can take their children to get tested," she said. "If your child is not symptomatic, take advantage of those testing sites, like your local pharmacy, the Military Circle Mall, or Virginia Department of Health."
Sass said CHKD's urgent care centers already had to limit their hours to 8 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. to help better control the long lines and hours the staff members were working. She said no patient will ever be turned away, but these limited hours help better organize the number of patients.
"Sometimes it's easier for you and easier for us to find the right location," said Sass. "It shortens your line to be seen, it shortens other people's lines to be seen, and it gets you in the right spot."
Sass said many testing sites don't often test children ages four or younger for COVID-19, so she recommends you speak with your pediatrician on where to go to get your child tested for the virus.
If your child is older, but you are still having trouble, she recommends speaking with your personal doctor or pediatrician to help find the best solution, faster.
Sass said there's no timeline yet as to when urgent care hours will resume back to normal. She wants parents to remember that if you think your child was exposed to COVID-19, it's best to test them within five to seven days of when the possible infection happened.