Shared from the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems:
We have received some reports from our member hospitals that they are experiencing a significant increase in emergency room visits from asymptomatic individuals seeking a COVID-19 test. This is overwhelming emergency room capacity and potentially exposing others to COVID-19 unnecessarily.
As always, if you are having trouble breathing or are experiencing other severe COVID-19 symptoms, you should absolutely go to the emergency room.
If you or a loved one is experiencing minor COVID-19 symptoms, please call a nurse advice line before going to the emergency room. If you are advised to get a COVID-19 test, please go to your nearest testing facility.
These are trying times, and hospitals are working hard to maintain superior standards of care for all their patients while simultaneously being faced with capacity constraints due to a surge in COVID-19 infections.
We can all do our part to reduce the strain on our hospitals and ensure hospital beds and our local emergency rooms are available for those who need them most.