Eight test negative for coronavirus at SVMHS, isolation tents set up

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Eight people have tested negative for coronavirus at Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital System, according to Karina Rusk, a spokesperson for the hospital.

The hospital has also begun staffing three isolation tents outside the ER that will be used alongside a triage tent that was set up last week.

The hospital also shared the process it goes through to screen and test patients coming through the ER. Patients are screened in the triage tent, and if they meet criteria to warrant more examination, that person will be taken to an isolation tent where there health care workers will get a nose and throat swab.

The swabs are sent to the Monterey County Health Department for coronavirus testing because tests are not done at hospitals.

If you think you may have minor coronavirus symptoms, health officials ask that you do not show up at a hospital emergency room. Instead, you are encouraged to call your primary care provider to talk about symptoms and risk factors.

So far, there have been no confirmed coronavirus cases in Monterey County.