Different Faces in Chicago Testing Centers
By Alfonso Gonsalez and Melissa Reyes
Like the rest of the world, Chicago has faced a very challenging few months where the city and its residents are working toward keeping COVID-19 cases down in hopes of one day returning to what was once a “normal” life. According to the Washington Post, Chicago is currently at its greatest rise in cases especially when comparing to the start of the pandemic.
With Chicago’s large population of 2.7 million residents (according to Chicago , Chicagoans have the availability of accessing different COVID-19 testing facilities to promote wellness and knowledge of one’s health.
There are static and mobile testing centers that are open throughout the week for the public to visit and learn about their COVID-19 status, according to Chicago.gov. In addition, the city’s hospitals and clinics offer testing (ABC 7).
Through this, testing facilities have been acknowledged and praised for the work and quick turnaround time for their tests and results to be given back to test takers.
There are many different perspectives and people involved in the COVID testing process from those that work at the testing centers to those that are being tested from all ages as well as those who treat the patients.
COVID-19 testing is available for those that have displayed symptoms to those that are non-symptomatic and are interested in finding out their status.
Leilany Zurita, 23, who tested positive for COVID-19 in June, said everyone in her household contracted it including her parents, sisters, nephew, son and boyfriend. She has visited COVID-19 testing centers four times because she kept testing negative.
Her father had gotten it from work and shortly his whole family contracted it.
Zurita works in the fast food industry as a manager at Chipotle and was given paid leave. She experienced the typically seen symptoms such as fever, loss of taste and smell. Her family all had flu-like symptoms apart from her son, who had also tested positive for COVID but did not show any signs of the virus.
In terms of her employment, she took three weeks off in which two of those were supposed to be paid. To this day she has not received full payment and because she was still sick the third week, her vacation days were taken away.
Zurita’s experience with her employer is what many other victims of COVID-19 experience with their jobs and not receiving all or any benefits in a time of need. Employers need their employees back but they also can’t risk a spread of COVID in their places of work.
Zurita said that prior to contracting COVID-19, her attitudes towards it were that of not letting it control her or her life. She mentioned how she continued to engage in family get-togethers yet took precautions in the workplace such as wearing masks and gloves.
After this experience, she realized how her family could have experienced their contraction of COVID-19 a lot worse than they did if her or her family had pre-existing health conditions or were older in age.
Family and household members that make up these families are something that people have to be conscious about when protecting themselves and their health. Ruby Luna, 22, shared her experiences with her and her entire household, consisting of 5 individuals, contracting COVID.
“It was a scary experience, I was scared for the health of my grandparents since they are older,” Luna said.
Her family contracted COVID through her grandfather, who had a COVID positive coworker.
“I hope that people realize that COVID is serious and that they should take care of themselves, for their sake and to protect those around them, please get tested,” stated Luna.
With the growing number of cases, the number of tests that are given daily only grows.
Nicolas Gonzalez, a worker at a COVID-19 testing center in the western suburbs of Chicago area, said that when he started the job back in July, there were about 700–800 tests given out daily. Now, his location sees 2,000 to 4,000 clients daily waiting to get tested.
“You can never be too sure,” Gonzalez said.”I recommend testing for exposure reasons as well as if you experience any of the symptoms. A diagnosis is better than just continuing on as if there was nothing wrong.”
Workers at these testing centers have specific procedures in order to prevent the exposure of the virus to themselves. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) suits as well as gloves, masks, and disinfectants are used on a regular basis by these workers.
Gonzalez emphasized that the manner in which the testing centers functioned at the start of COVID took a lot of time and effort from all workers involved.
With the greater demands of tests, the facilities have had to make changes and adapt in order to speed up the process yet stay safe.
Gonzalez recalled that before the surge, he routinely had contact with clients in collecting paperwork from them so that he could put their data into the computer system. Now, in order to manage time and word more efficiently, the paperwork is collected and brought to him so that he only remains at the computer throughout the shift.
When coming into work at the center’s opening hours, Gonzalez explains how there are always cars wrapped around the parking lot waiting to get tested. He also mentions how test results used to come back much quicker but because of more cases, it takes more time for clients to receive word of their results.
Another notable delay is the delivery of physical copies of test results to people who need proof in order to return to work. Nicolas recalls that a good majority of people get tested in order to get back to work.
Another perspective of dealing with the reality of COVID and how it has essentially impacted everyone in one way or another, are the nurses and doctors who work directly with infected patients, specifically those who are experiencing much harsher cases that can’t just be treated in their households. Because of the increase in cases, there is high demand for healthcare workers as well as hospitals that have room for COVID patients.
Hanna Coene, a nurse at a COVID-19 immediate care unit, had just started her job in October in the respiratory unit which has now converted to be part of the COVID unit.
Coene emphasized that her job had completely changed due to the COVID-19 virus. She explained how the hospital changed some of its medical units and reorganized the hospital’s layout in order to have more space for beds for COVID patients.
According to the Illinois Department of Health, in the first week of November, there were consistent record-breaking confirmed cases of COVID-19. These records consisted of over 12,000 cases per day with each day nearing 13,000. These numbers are at the highest they have ever been in Illinois with the largest number of cases coming from Chicago and Cook County.
With the recent increase of cases, she described the situation as the worst it has ever been with patients coming in with even harsher symptoms that need more treatment as well as use of more equipment such as oxygen and intubations.
“Because we are currently at the worst [in COVID cases] and people are coming in more sick,” Coene said. “We are requiring more and more oxygen and intubations. We are having patients running out of oxygen and patients needing longer and more extensive care.”
Coene said she takes precautions herself when going home such as changing scrubs in order to travel home as well as disinfecting all her belongings. She mentions how there are services that the hospitals offer for their workers who may be experiencing an emotional toll because of all the tough situations they have to see.
When asked what message she may have for the public, Coene said, “Things I have seen while working with COVID-19 patients.. I understand some people can’t empathize because they have not had it themselves,,, but I wish some people would listen to doctors and scientists.”
Many healthcare professionals see the first hand impacts COVID has had on people and their families. Their messages and pleas to the public for people to protect themselves and those around them, should not be taken lightly.