With businesses in Colorado slowly beginning to reopen, business owners and employers will be prioritizing keeping their employees and customers as safe and healthy as possible. In addition to putting into effect new health and safety measures for everyone to follow while inside your office, store or location, a way to make sure the novel coronavirus cannot spread throughout your company is by having employees tested for either the active COVID-19 virus or antibodies from a previous infection. AFC Urgent Care Louisville & Boulder are offering COVID-19 diagnostic and antibody testing seven days a week for employees working in Louisville, Boulder, and Superior, CO.
Types of COVID-19 testing available for employees returning to work
There are two tests available to detect whether or not a patient has been exposed to COVID-19. Depending on patient volume and lab capacity, results can be returned in 2-4 days.
Diagnostic (PCR) testing for COVID-19 is performed by taking a swab of the nasal cavity to collect a sample. The sample is then sent to a local laboratory for processing and analyzing to determine if the virus is present. Swab testing can only detect the active COVID-19 virus and will not be able to pick up if you have previously been exposed or infected. Swab testing can be done on patients who are currently exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, have not been tested or have previously tested positive for the virus. Patients who visit AFC Urgent Care Louisville & Boulder for COVID-19 swab testing for returning to work testing must wear masks and be symptom-free for at least three days prior to testing, including fever, cough and body aches.
Antibody testing is used to detect past infection with coronavirus. By taking a blood sample, our lab technicians will be able to detect antibodies developed after an infection has healed. Antibody testing cannot detect the active virus and a negative test result can still be given if you are asymptomatic but currently have the active virus. Antibodies take about fourteen days to form after an infection has healed. Antibody testing can be used to determine if employees have previously been exposed to COVID-19 and have since developed an immune response.
Rapid Antigen and Molecular Testing:AFC Urgent Care Louisville is now performing Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 diagnostic swab tests as well as rapid antigen tests seven days a week with same-day results. The ID NOW Test is a molecular test that can provide results within the same DAY, unlike the standard PCR test. The rapid test is available under emergency use authorization from the FDA.
Return-to-Work COVID-19 Testing serving Louisville, Boulder & Superior, CO and surrounding areas
If you are an employee getting ready to return to work or an employer preparing to reopen an office or retail location, contact AFC Urgent Care Louisville & Boulder to learn more about return-to-work testing! We can perform tests in our urgent care and return results to patients in 2-4 days depending on current patient volume and lab capacity. For questions, please call 720-961-9700.
