Thread by @mala

I had a San Francisco city drive-thru COVID test. It was negative!

What was it like to do?

Let me explain in the form of a thread: (Content warning for descriptions of sickness, things getting stuck right up noses.)

First: I've been ill the last week with symptoms that weren't like scary lung COVID, but annoyingly close to the alternative COVID symptoms: No cough, but high temperature fever, stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea.

A very small %age of COVID cases start like this, so in an abundance of caution, and because I live with someone I would quite like not to give the plague to, I got tested.

Your best bet to do this is to talk to a doctor, but if you have symptoms and you're in San Francisco (and especially if you don't have health insurance or are an essential worker), you can book a free test at the drive-thru testing centers downtown. sf.gov/citytestsf

I'm sentimentally reassured by government websites that borrow from the UK's government digital service. design-system.service.gov.uk

The SF gov test form application is large and clear, but requires info you might have to dig up like health insurance, and breaks the back button...

...so you might want to sit with someone to do it, or fill it in for them over the phone if they're not comfortable with computers. You can also call 311.

There were lots of appointments free, though I booked a day ahead on the first day of the tests' general availability

The tests are done by @color, a Silicon Valley start-up who have switched their genetic testing service over to rapid, mass SARS-CoV-2 testing, ramping up to 10,000 tests with a goal of a 24 hour turnaround

Here's the geeky details: color.com/covid19-details

Right now they say 1-3 days. I got my results back early on Monday after a noonday Friday test. Someone else I know who had flu symptoms got their test back within 24 hours, during the week.

@lizhenry drove me to the drive-through testing center on Pier 30/32. It's an open car lot. You can wistfully watch the yachts sail by as you wait in a socially-distant car line. Stop #1, you show ID, then you drive into a canopied space where they ask you some questions-and TEST

Yes they stick a swab right up your nose. RIGHT up your nose. More swab than you would think possible. Then they wiggle it around a bit. It's not super painful and it is quick but is definitely disorienting, like a magic trick. I had some sinusy-pain up there the next night.

You don't get out of the car (though if you're the passenger, you should sit in the back on the left.) The city can do walk-ins as well as drive-thru.

At the end of the test, they give you an information letter and a barcode with a short ID number (mine started with a "D-")

That ID and your birthdate is all you need to access your results, but if you don't have that ID, it gets complicated. So photo the ID number/barcode page on your phone! Or just keep the printout scrunched close to you.

Then you go home, and in 1-3 days you get sent a text and an email with a link. Click on link, enter the ID, birthdate and you are sent to a page with a PDF link. The PDF has a Green bar for no SARS-CoV-2 detected, red for detected, teal for something-went-wrong-with-the-test.

You can see sample results documents here: color.com/covid19-details

As you can see, they warn you that no test is perfect. But it was good to feel less worried about the illness escalating, or being a ball of contagious viruses etc.

I remember seeing the pictures from South Korea when they rolled out drive-through testing, and from what I saw, I'd say San Francisco appears to be getting to that state. Every SFer has fair complaints about their city, but it felt like they are working to be on top of this.

I wish every town in this crisis had a tech hub like Silicon Valley nearby with companies like @color and I hope we can ramp up free easy COVID testing for everyone in the US, and the world.

Okay, back to bed rest, and lots of fluids for me! Donate to sfmfoodbank.org !