December 7, 2022
Where to Get Tested
If you have a regular care provider, contact your doctor’s office or clinic.
Oregon Health Sciences University offers testing for anyone age 2 months and older. Call 833-647-8222 to make an appointment.
Use atesting locator to find community testing sites.
If you need help finding a test call 211 or Multnomah County’s COVID-19 Call Center 503-988-8939. They can also help you with transportation.
At-home self-tests
Most insurance providers will either provide or pay you back for at-home tests.
At-home self-tests can be purchased online or at many local pharmacies, drug stores, or grocery stores.
Who Should Get Tested
Try to get tested if you have symptoms of COVID-19 or if you have recently been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, whether or not you’ve been vaccinated. Close contact means being within 6 feet of someone for 15 minutes or more over the course of a day, with or without a mask.
If you are getting tested because you had close contact with someone who has COVID-19, it’s best to get tested 5 days after you were together. The test may not work if you get tested too soon.
If you can’t get a test or a testing appointment
If you have symptoms
If you feel ill with COVID-19 symptoms, and you cannot find a test, assume that you may have COVID-19 and stay home and away from others (isolate) for 5 days.
- If you feel well and your symptoms are much better after 5 days, you can stop isolating, but wear a well-fitting mask around others for 5 additional days.
- If you have a fever, continue to stay home until your fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medications.
- Call your health care provider immediately if you are at high risk for severe disease.
- Watch for serious symptoms. Go to an emergency department or call 911 if you develop these symptoms.
If you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19
If you were in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 and you can’t get a test on day 5 as recommended, watch yourself for symptoms for 10 full days. If you develop symptoms at any time, stay home and away from others.
What to Expect
There are different kinds of COVID-19 tests. Some tests, including some molecular tests and PCR tests, involve a swab that goes in your nose quite far, so you may feel brief discomfort. Other tests, including many rapid or antigen tests, involve a swab just inside your nostril or require you to spit into a testing kit. Some of these you will perform yourself and then give the swab back to the clinic staff.
If your child is getting tested you may be asked to help hold them. We encourage you to go first and show them it will be okay.
Getting Your Test Results
Depending on what type of test you get, your results may take only 15 - 30 minutes, or up to a few days.
If you have to wait a few days for your results, you should stay home and away from others during that time if you have symptoms. This will help keep you from giving the virus to others if you have it.
If you test negative - Follow any instructions from your provider. Even if you have tested negative, continue everyday measures to protect yourself and others. See:If you have been around someone with COVID.
If you test positive - Whether or not you have symptoms, please stay home and separate from others for 5 days. If you have no symptoms, or your symptoms are resolved after 5 days, you can leave your home. Continue to wear a mask around others for 5 more days.
What to do if you test positive»
