I got tested for COVID-19. Here’s my experience

I was nervous. What am I getting myself into? Is this going to hurt? Do I really want to know?

Those were some of my thoughts as I stood in line outside Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas waiting to get a coronavirus test. I’ve seen people on youtube claiming the tests felt like a stick had stabbed their brain, which left me a wee bit nervous.

Publicly funded testing for the COVID19 in San Diego County had been reserved for people who had been referred to a testing site by a medical provider. That changed in early May when California state-fund testing sites were opened in Escondido, El Cajon and and Chula Vista.

Expanding tests to people without symptoms is the best way for SD county to better track the spread of the virus, and the new sites together have a capacity of performing almost 1000 tests daily.

I heard that some glitches had been worked out and they were running smoother the day after it was launched. After logging into online and creating an account, I completed several pages asking about my current employment, and if I lived or worked in a senior assisted living facility, and if I had any COVID-like symptoms and other questions.

When the test actually started I was relieved I felt no sense of gagging or pain or pressure. What I felt was kind of strange like something expanding inside my nose as the swab was rotated. The nurse then began removing the swab, which she advised may be the uncomfortable part but It never hurt.Then it was all over. The actual test takes less than 1 minute.

A few days later I got a text message telling me that the results were ready. I was....negative!

The results did give me a lot of peace of mind, though I wish I could have taken the test much much earlier.