Avoid emergency rooms if you need a COVID-19 test, San Joaquin County public health says

San Joaquin County Public Health Services urges county residents to avoid hospital emergency departments when wanting to get tested for COVID-19 or treat mild symptoms.

Instead of emergency rooms, county authorities encourage the community to visit sjready.org for quick access to information and appointments at local testing sites.

"Save even more time and register for COVID-19 testing at sjready.org," Public Health Services said.

"Hospitals are needed for those with severe COVID-19 symptoms or other critical illnesses, and health care workers are finding themselves stretched to the limit again," the agency said.

The Public Health Services Jan. 14 COVID-19 report shows increased spikes in total COVID-19 cases, testing rate and positivity rate.

Compared to the data from a year ago, some levels appear to be greater now than before, yet "there are currently data transmission issues causing major delays in case counts due to such a large influx of cases," the agency said on the second slide of their data deck.

"This is an issue that is affecting other counties as well," it said.

The agency further recommends San Joaquin County residents get vaccinated, get boosted, wear a mask and remember to "use hospitals for emergency care only," Public Health Services said in an email.

Another resource is San Joaquin County Supervisor Kathy Miller's and San Joaquin County Public Health Services' Twitter feeds. As additional testing sites and hours of service change, both Miller and Public Health Services have frequently been tweeting about it.

You can view the full public report at bit.ly/3nwSNJn.

More on COVID-19 testing from January 2022:

Record reporter Laura Diaz covers social justice and societal issues. She can be reached at ldiaz@recordnet.com or on Twitter @laurasdiaz_. Support local news, subscribe to The Stockton Record at recordnet.com/subscribenow.

©2022 www.recordnet.com. Visit recordnet.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.