People with COVID have reported a wide range of symptoms, ranging from mild to severe illness.
Symptoms may appear two to 14 days after exposure to the virus and can include:

• Fever or chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Fatigue
• Muscle or body aches
• Headache
• New loss of taste or smell
• Sore throat
• Congestion or runny nose
• Nausea or vomiting
• Diarrhea

When should I see a doctor?

• Mild symptoms - Call your primary care provider. Your provider will ask specific screening questions and provide your next steps.
• Severe symptoms - call 911.

If you are showing any of the following signs, seek emergency medical care immediately:

• Trouble breathing
• Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
• New confusion
• Inability to wake or stay awake
• Bluish lips or face

This list does not include all possible urgent symptoms. Please call your medical provider for any other symptoms that are severe or concerning to you. If you need emergency care, call 911. Notify the operator you are seeking care for someone who has or may have COVID.

Testing supplies are limited. At this time, we only test patients with symptoms who meet the following criteria:

• Symptomatic healthcare workers and first responders
• Symptomatic patients with increased risk for complications: lung disease, high blood pressure,
  cancer, kidney failure, diabetes, etc.
• Long-term care residents or patients 65 and older
• Patients whom providers believe need testing due to the safety of household contacts or the public

Our clinics do NOT provide exposure or return-to-work testing.

If you have symptoms, contact your primary care provider to schedule a virtual appointment. If you do not have a primary care provider, you may go to Liberty Hospital Urgent Care Shoal Creek.

The drive-thru testing site at Liberty Hospital ONLY is for established patients of our network of clinics. It is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday outside the Doctors Building. Follow the signs.

1. If you have symptoms, contact your primary care provider to schedule a virtual appointment. If you do not have a primary care provider, you may go to Liberty Hospital Urgent Care Shoal Creek.

2. The drive-thru testing site at Liberty Hospital requires an order from your physician, urgent care or nurse practitioner.

3. Results typically are available in 48-72 hours from the healthcare provider who ordered your test. Please do NOT call the hospital. Our switchboard operators cannot answer your medical questions.

If you do NOT have symptoms and have no known exposure, contact your local health department to inquire about testing. See testing information for Clay County Public Health Center here.

Self-pay patients for a COVID test: Please note the type of test (rapid or PCR) is determined by the provider ordering the test.

COVID antigen (rapid) test received at our primary care clinics or urgent care - $60

COVID-19 testing (HCPCS U0003) performed by outpatient services at Liberty Hospital - $100

PCR test received in the drive-thru at Liberty Hospital is billed differently because those tests are sent to an outside lab - Quest or MAWD. To find outside lab costs, contact Quest Diagnostics, 913.895.2400 or MAWD Pathology, 816-241-3338.

Results typically are available in 48-72 hours from the healthcare provider who ordered your test.

Please do NOT call the hospital. Our switchboard operators cannot answer your medical questions.

No

Returning to work after COVID symptoms when no testing was done:

Persons with COVID who have symptoms and were directed to care for themselves at home may discontinue isolation under the following conditions, according to the CDC (7-20-20):

• At least 10 days have passed since the symptoms started AND
• At least 24 hours have passed since the last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications and
• Other symptoms have improved

Returning to work after a positive COVID test:

Persons with a positive COVID-19 viral test done by nasal or nasopharyngeal swab may discontinue
isolation under the following conditions, according to the CDC (7-22-20):

• At least 10 days have passed since symptoms first appeared AND
• At least 24 hours have passed since the last fever without the use of fever-reducing medications AND
• Symptoms (e.g., cough, shortness of breath) have improved

After a positive COVID test, the CDC no longer is recommending that additional tests be taken to return to work. Patients without symptoms who were tested may return to work when at least 10 days have passed since the date of their first positive viral diagnostic test

Returning to work after COVID exposure:

If you have had close contact, which is defined as less than six feet away from someone for 15 minutes
or longer, with someone who has been exposed to or tested positive for COVID, do the following:

• Stay home for 14 days from the day of exposure
• Maintain social distance (at least six feet away) from others
• Monitor yourself for fever twice a day and watch for other symptoms (fever, cough, shortness of breath, etc.)

Employers should not require a COVID test result or a healthcare provider’s note for employees who are sick to validate their illness, qualify for sick leave or to return to work.

• Under the American’s with Disabilities Act, employers are permitted to require a doctor’s note to verify
  that employees are healthy and able to return to work. However, as a practical matter, healthcare
  provider offices and medical facilities may be extremely busy and not able to provide such
  documentation in a timely manner. Most people with COVID have mild illness and can recover at
  home without medical care and can follow CDC recommendations to determine when to discontinue
  home isolation and return to work.
• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has established guidance regarding
  Pandemic Preparedness in the Workplace and the Americans with Disabilities. The guidance
  enables employers to take steps to protect workers consistent with CDC guidance, including
  requiring workers to stay home when necessary to address the direct threat of spreading COVID to others.

The link below provides dates/times and locations for free COVID testing of Missouri residents. Or just go to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) website.

FREE COVID testing for Missouri residents