“We have zero tests,” said Dr. Dacelin St Martin. “We do have a lot of high risk people … therefore a lot of people may not be getting the test due to the rigid criteria that we are currently using.”​

Dr. St Martin said his Quick Care Med clinics began turning away dozens of patients last week, that he believes need to be tested for the coronavirus.

“At least 100 but there are more patients that we think are qualified to be tested or that are seeking to be tested and not being tested,” he said. “We definitely need more tests and also equipment.”

For example, Dr. St Martin said one of his patients who recently gave birth to premature twins had someone stay in her home who’s from a coronavirus hot spot state.

“She called me over the weekend and said, ‘Doctor, I think I have the coronavirus.’ I said, ‘Why do you think so?'” Dr. St Martin asked. “‘I was exposed to someone who lives in Washington state and now I have chills and fever and sore throat and I don’t know what to do and I’d like to be tested.'”

St Martin said he told his patient to contact the Department of Health for a test but she was denied because the woman did not fall in the category to be tested.

“This is an example of what we are facing,” he said. “Reversely we tried to find a way to keep this person in isolation for now waiting for the opportunity to test her.”

St Martin said he hopes to have 10 coronavirus tests from a private lab available at all of his urgent health care clinics by the end of the week.

This past weekend, Citrus County saw its first official coronavirus case. The 60-year-old woman’s case is being classified as travel-related.

BY JOSH ROJAS CITRUS COUNTY
PUBLISHED 6:19 PM ET MAR. 16, 2020

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