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SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | JANUARY 2021 11 By Theresa Rossetti, Resident As I type this, new COVID-19 regulations may be going into place in our area. By the time you read this, they may have changed again. There's nothing we can do about regulations, but we can stay informed on how to keep ourselves as well as possible. Obviously, if you have symptoms you should contact your health provider and make arrangements as they recommend. What if you have no symptoms? Should you be tested for COVID-19? As you may know, our county collects statistics on confirmed cases, people tested, new cases per day and positivity rates. This data is used to stage the risk level per county and drive our reopening plans. The more negative results per tests performed, the lower the positivity rate. But what test? For some background, I worked in clinical laboratory testing my entire adult working life, first in a level one trauma center lab, then in a private lab performing testing on subjects undergoing clinical trials. So maybe I can break it down for you. There are currently three types of tests available. They have different purposes. The most accurate for diagnosing current infection is the molecular test by PCR. It works by detecting the RNA/DNA of the virus. It requires a nasal or throat swab, results may take a few days to arrive. It cannot tell if you had COVID-19 in the past and have recovered. The Antigen test looks for proteins specific to the virus. It too requires a nasal or throat swab, and results are sometimes available the same day. A positive result is usually highly accurate for current infection, but false positives can happen. Negative tests may need confirmation by molecular testing, especially if you have symptoms. It cannot tell you if you had COVID-19 in the past and have recovered. The Antibody test detects antibodies your body has made against the virus. This requires a blood draw or a fingerstick, most results are available same day or in a day or so. It will show if you had COVID-19 in the past. It cannot diagnose infection at the time of the test or show that you do not currently have COVID-19. Ok, so how to get a test? After a potential exposure, but without symptoms, my choice was to register and make an appointment on the Riverside County website, gettested.ruhealth.org. The process was fairly easy, and the website is very informative. I chose to go to the Beaumont site for PCR testing and happily my result came back negative. There are also sites in Perris, Temecula and Lake Elsinore. I hope this didn't bore you to tears and gave you some information. Please contact your healthcare provider if you have symptoms. To Test Or Not To Test, That Is The Question Music Under the Stars with So Rare

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