Is your at-home COVID-19 test positive? Fresno County's health department needs to know
Officials say many are turning to at-home tests, but barely any positive results are being reported.
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Health officials are asking those who use an at-home rapid COVID test to report a positive result to the local health department.
"It's just very critical to have up-to-date data from our community at any given time," explained Dr. Trinidad Solis, with the Fresno County Department of Public Health.
Throughout the holiday season, health leaders have been encouraging COVID tests before and after gatherings or travel.
While testing sites in Fresno are seeing an increase in people wanting to get tested, at-home rapid test sales are also increasing.
Fresno County health officials acknowledge many are turning to at-home tests, but barely any positive results are being reported.
"Out of all our positive COVID tests, less than 1% of those are people who self-report their rapid tests," Dr. Solis said.
She added that this means the county's COVID case numbers may not be accurate, with the number possibly being higher.
"With that information, we can make more educated decisions to guide us when we're trying to protect the public, and to also educate the public about what our current situation is," said Dr. Solis.
Health leaders are asking those who test positive with an at-home test to contact the health department so they can document the case and provide important information about quarantine and contact tracing.
If you have a negative result with an at-home test, but have symptoms, Dr. Solis said it's important to go in for a PCR test.
"They are more sensitive," she explained. "So if you're having symptoms and your rapid test came back negative, it's a good idea to just be sure and check with the PCR test."
While self-reporting isn't mandatory, health leaders, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recommend it as as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreads.
To self-report a positive test result in Fresno County, call the health department's COVID Provider Line at 1-888-559-2683.
