coronavirus

Fairfax County Teacher Says it Took Multiple ER Visits to Get Tested for Coronavirus

Catherine Collett

A Fairfax County elementary school teacher who is recovering from COVID-19 is sharing her experience on social media about how difficult it was for her and her husband to get tested.

Catherine Collett, a 6th grade teacher at Lynbrook Elementary School, said in a Facebook post on Friday that during their first of four ER visits, doctors told her and her husband they could go home and go back to work once her husband's fever broke.

"My husband is an EMT who primarily transports elderly patients. If we had taken this advice, we would have endangered countless people," she said. She did not say which hospital they visited.

Instead, she says they stayed home and her husband took off work while Collett fought to get them tested.

"We’d call the ER and be told we qualify for testing, to show up and be told we don’t. Finally, the health department coordinated our testing," she said.

His positive results came back last Tuesday. Collette tested positive a few days later.

"I hope that sharing our experience can shed some light on this side of the pandemic. I hope companies, health care providers, and the health department can continue to make better decisions as more cases arise," Collett said.

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