Jonesboro Kids Blog

For COVID19 positive individuals, the CDC is still recommending 14 Days of Quarantine.

New guidelines have been released in order to get individuals back to school or work sooner under specific circumstances

• Released After Day 10 – If NO symptoms since exposure
• Released After Day 7 – If NO symptoms AND Negative Testing performed after the 5^th day of exposure – PCR (send out) testing recommended but Rapid Antigen testing is acceptable

Under new guidelines, individuals also required to self-monitor daily until after the 14^th Day.

Self-monitoring includes:

• daily temperature checks
• face mask adherence
• social distancing
• limiting groups & non-essential activities

If any symptoms start prior to the full release of quarantine, you need to ISOLATE and contact your provider.

The Children’s Clinic is offering COVID-19 testing by appointment or our walk-in clinic for established patients only. All patients must be seen by one of our providers for testing so we can give you a thorough exam, review your medical history and risk factors, and review isolation and quarantine needs with you and your child. 

We are currently offering two types of testing depending on if you are having symptoms or have been exposed:

Rapid Test

• If you are symptomatic and have had symptoms compatible with COVID-19 for 5 days or less, you are eligible for the rapid test.
• Results within 15 minutes
• The test is not accurate if there are no symptoms because there must be viral particles in the nose
• Our rapid test methodology is felt to have little if any false positives, but there are concerns that we could be missing some positives that are asymptomatic or early in their illness, and thus we confirm each negative rapid test with a send-out test which is felt to be the gold standard.

PCR Send Out Test

• Performed on asymptomatic patients (without symptoms) if there is an exposure history. Results are normally received within 2-3 days.
• If you have had COVID-19 symptoms for more than 5 days, you are eligible for the Send Out Test.
• The preferred time to test asymptomatic patients is 3-5 days after exposure.

All tests follow the protocol outlined by the Department of Health and CDC. The test is “mid-turbinate swabs” (similar to a flu test swab) and not the deep nasopharyngeal swabs that everyone dreads! Testing supplies are limited therefore we will follow these guidelines as strictly as possible.

Note: If anyone has been sent home from school due to “exposure” please call for advice prior to testing. If there are no symptoms, rapid testing is not indicated, and send out tests are more sensitive on day 3-5 of quarantine.

We are happy to answer any questions you might have. Please feel free to call our clinic at 870-935-6012.