D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser on Tuesday expanded criteria for coronavirus testing to include critical infrastructure workers, such as grocery store workers, who came in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient.
“Every day, we have workers out in the community ensuring we have access to food and other essential products and services, and those workers are safer and so is everyone else when we know who has the virus and who has been exposed to it,” Miss Bowser said in a written statement. “We already know that testing and contact tracing will play a critical role in every stage of our response and recovery, and this expansion is one more strategy for slowing the spread, protecting workers, and saving lives.”
The D.C. Department of Health (DOH) is encouraging residents who are experiencing any symptom of the coronavirus to call their health care provider, or the testing hotline at 1-855-363-0333 (English) or 1-844-796-2797 (English and Spanish) to see about getting tested.
Miss Bowser last week expanded testing to include asymptomatic health care workers, first responders and certain vulnerable populations that have a history of exposure to a confirmed COVID-19 patient.
A 26-year-old was one of five D.C. residents reported Tuesday to have died from COVID-19.
A total of 190 city residents have died from the coronavirus, 79% of whom have been black.
DOH reported Tuesday 102 new positive cases of the virus, bringing the District’s total to 3,994 cases.
• Sophie Kaplan can be reached at skaplan@washingtontimes.com.
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