Austin Health Officials Expand Coronavirus Testing Procedures

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Health officials have enhanced their procedures in testing for the novel coronavirus as directed by revamped guidelines directed by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials, Patch has learned.

Mark Escott, interim medical director and health authority for Austin Public Health, briefed county commissioners on the heightened testing regiment which now includes testing people potentially afflicted by the virus who did not travel abroad — the original red flag that sparked testing. Given the new protocol — ever-changing guidelines as the virus manifests itself worldwide — local health officials sent biopsy samples from a sickened resident to the Centers for Disease Control headquarters for more robust testing.

Health officials are now calling coronavirus COVID-19, a respiratory ailment caused by a member of the coronavirus family that’s a close cousin to the SARS and MERS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past.

Tuesday's briefing to county commissioners has given rise to local headlines in other media erroneously suggesting a resident has contracted coronavirus. In a telephone interview with Patch, Austin Health spokesperson Jen Samp sought to clarify.

"We are following CDC criteria," she said. "Their criteria used to be heavy travel, but it doesn't include travel anymore. We have now expanded our testing, especially in flu season. If they [patients] don't know who their point of contact was, or don't know where they got it from, then we're going to test."

In the early stages of coronavirus emergence, health officials strictly tested those who had traveled abroad for coronavirus. But as the virus has expanded, some have been sickened without having traveled. Given that metamorphosis, health officials are now testing sick people in a more robust fashion, Samp explained.

"We'll send out samples to the CDC in Atlanta, and it takes 24 to 48 hours to get those tests back," Samp said. "Prior to that, we would get flight manifests, but now CDC criteria have changed."

The more robust testing underway now locally, however, does not mean coronavirus patients have been identified locally, she said. "The criteria has changed; in the past week, it's changed twice already."

First, testing was focused on those traveling to China. Then, others traveling in other parts of the world where coronavirus has emerged were added to the testing regiment. Now, anyone who is sick with symptoms similar to those of the virus will be checked in an abundance of caution, Samp said. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county.

While the coronavirus threat is new, past viruses — Ebola and rubella just to name two — have prompted similar guidelines, Samp said. "Anytime we see a new virus, we are going to act they way we do. If we see something new, we are going to be apprehensive aout it and then will try to find out all the information about it before making a decision."

The headlines the new threat command have given rise to fear, but the risk in contracting coronavirus remains very low, Samp said. Health officials' hope is to study the scourge and make it manageable.

"This is new, and people fear new things. I can't imagine what the flue looked like when it made its debut. This is something new, and we will study it and ressearch it, hopefully develop a vaccine for it and eventually it will be part of our lives like many of the viruses that are part of our lives."

But she reiterated: The risk of contracting coronavirus remains low. "The risk is very low at this point, the fear is very high. We are expecting to get cases — this has been stated by the CDC. But we're going to test more, and we're ready. We don't blame the public for being afraid, but we're ready for stuff like this, and have been preparing."

Fear also has been heightened ahead of the annual SXSW festival that brings tens of thousands of attendees from all over the world, sometimes in close proximity to each other at various venues. High-profile presenters — Twitter, Facebook and Intel among them — have pulled out in attending the gathering over COVID-19 fears.

But Samp said Austin Health has long been prepared for potential response to outbreaks of illness en masse, particularly given the city's long history of staging festivals on a massive scale.

"We prepare for SXSW a year in advance," she said. "We're in Austin where we have festivals and mass gatherings, so we have emergency plans. There are guidelines from CDC and WHO (World Health Organization) on mass gatherings that we follow."

Related story: SXSW Moving Forward Amid Coronavirus Concerns

As it relates to SXSW, Austin Health officials have assembled an expert panel of consultants comprising health and emergency officials, local and state hospitals, health care providers, EMS medics along with state and federal agencies to advise them on emergency plans, Samp said.

"We're taking a microscopic look at the face, and looking at what it takes and what the precautions are that we need," she said. Among those safeguards are limiting occupancy in buildings, she noted.

In light of misinformation and lack of understanding into the machinations of health care work that's largely done behind the scenes, Samp hinted at some sort of formal media availability to better apprise the media. She said Patch would be alerted to such media outreach efforts once a date is solidified.