Testing Options

• Generally, the Whatcom County Health Department is recommending that healthcare providers send COVID-19 specimens to commercial labs.
• The Whatcom County Health Department continues to do limited specimen collection at our drive-through site or via mobile van for some outbreak or cluster investigation purposes. The Whatcom County Health Department also continues to arrange for testing for all close contacts of laboratory-confirmed cases.
• The Washington State Public Health Laboratories will accept specimens meeting specific criteria directly from clinicians as outlined in this document.
• If you are unable to test a patient, please call the Whatcom County Health Department at 360-788-6100 to discuss options for referring and to see if the patient meets our priorities. Do not send patients directly to the Health Department without calling first.

Infection Control

• It is important to conserve PPE for recommended uses.
  • Respirators (N-95, CAPR, PAPR) should be prioritized for use with aerosol-generating procedures. Nasopharyngeal swab collection is considered aerosol-generating.
  • Guidelines are provided for prioritizing use of available PPE when supplies are limited:
    • Healthcare Supply of Personal Protective Equipment
    • Interim Infection Prevention and Control Recommendations for Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Healthcare Settings 
• Guidance Using Test-Based Strategies for Preventing COVID-19 Transmission in Nursing Homes
• Interim Guidance on Discontinuation of Transmission-Based Precautions and Disposition of Patients with COVID-19 in Healthcare Settings

*Important note on Isolation and Quarantine:

*If someone is a non-healthcare worker and suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19 they will need to quarantine/isolate themselves for at least 24 hours since their fever and other symptoms are gone and at least 10 days have passed since symptoms first started. A limited number of persons with severe illness may warrant extending duration of isolation and precautions for up to 20 days after symptom onset. Close contacts of confirmed cases need to be tested for COVID-19 and regardless of results should quarantine for 14 days, this includes daily symptom monitoring.

Persons who require assistance to isolate/quarantine should be referred to the Whatcom County Health Department to determine if they qualify to stay at the isolation and quarantine facility on Byron Street in Bellingham.

• Explanation of the COVID-19 Isolation & Quarantine Facility Referral Process
• COVID-19 Isolation & Quarantine Facility Referral Form
• Infographic for Patients – Isolation/Quarantine Facility (Spanish)

When providers approve testing for COVID-19, it is essential for disease control to also provide isolation or quarantine directions. Below you can find and print WA DOH informational fliers to help your patients know what to do and be aware of, depending on their situation.