COVID-19 Testing Overview
COVID-19 Testing Overview
Find out who should get tested. Protect yourself and others. Wear a mask, wash hands often, stay 6 ft from others.
Two kinds of tests are available for COVID-19: viral tests and antibody tests.
- A viral test tells you if you have a current infection.
- An antibody test might tell you if you had a past infection.
Considerations for who should get tested
- People who have symptoms of COVID-19.
- People who have had close contact (within 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes or more) with someone with confirmed COVID-19.
- People who have taken part in activities that put them at higher risk for COVID-19 because they cannot socially distance as needed, such as travel, attending large social or mass gatherings, or being in crowded indoor settings.
- People who have been asked or referred to get testing by their healthcare provider, localexternal icon or state health department.
Not everyone needs to be tested. If you do get tested, you should self-quarantine/isolate at home pending test results and follow the advice of your health care provider or a public health professional.
How to get tested for current COVID-19 infection
- You can visit your state or localexternal icon health department’s website to look for the latest local information on testing.
- If you have symptoms of COVID-19 and want to get tested, call your healthcare provider first.
Results
- If you test positive, know what protective steps to take to prevent others from getting sick.
- If you test negative, you probably were not infected at the time your sample was collected. The test result only means that you did not have COVID-19 at the time of testing. Continue to take steps to protect yourself.
Print Resources
How to Collect Your Anterior Nasal Swab Sample for COVID-19 Testing
English pdf icon[131 KB, 2 Pages] | Español pdf icon[131 KB, 2 Pages]
What Your Test Results Mean
English pdf icon[215 KB, 1 Page] | Español pdf icon[213 KB, 1 página]
Video Resources
Last Updated Dec. 7, 2020