The Department of General Services (DGS) has announced that Virginia’s public health and environmental laboratory, has begun testing for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The laboratory tested two suspected cases over the weekend, and results for both were negative.
“No cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Virginia at this time, and our public health officials are working diligently to ensure early detection of any suspected cases,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “Our ability to test suspected COVID-19 cases locally is critical to quickly diagnosing and providing treatment to anyone who may become infected, as well as stopping the spread of this novel virus among our citizens.”
Until this past Saturday, all suspected COVID-19 samples were sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for testing, which could take up to a week to report results. Local testing at Virginia’s lab can cut the time for results to just hours.
The state public health laboratory will test samples from individuals identified by the Virginia Department of Health as a Person Under Investigation (PUI), meaning they meet both the clinical and epidemiologic criteria for COVID-19.
The Virginia Department of Health reports patients under investigation who are Virginia residents on its website, vdh.virginia.gov. Overall, Virginia has tested or sent to the CDC for testing specimens from 11 PUI, and all have been negative.
“Our laboratory is pleased to be able to offer this important testing in support of Virginia’s public health response efforts,” said Joe Damico, Director of Virginia’s Department of General Services. “Whether it is a new and emerging disease such as COVID-19 or routine testing for public health or environmental threats, we are committed to providing accurate and timely laboratory testing.”
“The commonwealth’s ability to test patients under investigation for COVID-19 is essential to addressing this public health threat,” said Dr. Lilian Peake, state epidemiologist. “Detecting cases of COVID-19 early is critical in helping to prevent spread and protecting our communities.”
To expand testing capabilities nationwide, the CDC gained approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in February under Emergency Use Authorization to distribute a diagnostic test for detection of the virus that causes COVID-19 to state public health laboratories nationwide.
At this time, there is no vaccine to protect against COVID-19 and no medications approved to treat it.
Virginia’s state public health laboratory performs more than 9 million tests annually to identify genetic and metabolic disorders in newborn children and to detect infectious agents and toxic chemicals in humans, animals, the environment, the food we eat and the water we drink. For more information about the lab, visit the Department of General Services website at dgs.virginia.gov.
