Floyd Medical Center received notification late Thursday evening from the Georgia Department of Public Health that a patient at the local hospital has preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19, the coronavirus, according to an FMC media release.
A 46-year-old female visited Floyd’s Emergency Care Center with some flu-like symptoms on Saturday, February 29th. She was screened according to the CDC and GDPH screening guidelines and subsequently treated and released. She did not meet testing criteria for COVID-19 or warrant hospitalization.
This patient returned to the center this past Tuesday, March 3rd as symptoms had worsened. More tests were completed, GDPH was notified and went on to authorize her release. The patient again did not meet COVID-19 screening criteria, but Floyd clinicians made the determination to hospitalize her due to her condition.
The patient was placed in isolation and further screening was conducted. At the adamant urging of the attending physician and District Health Director Dr Gary Voccio, CDC and GDPH authorized COVID-19 testing for this patient. The preliminary test result was deemed positive. Additional testing is being conducted; results from the CDC are expected in the coming days.
The media release assures locals that it is safe to seek care at Floyd Medical Center. For more information on the matter, visit www.floyd.org.
Additional information about the coronavirus, or COVID-19, is available via www.cdc.gov and www.dph.georgia.gov.