Salinas Valley Memorial tries out drive-through COVID-19 screening

SALINAS, Calif. (KION) Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital is in the beginning stages of a drive-through COVID-19 screening process.

"When we screen patients for COVID, we're looking at the risk factors," Director of Emergency Services Carla Spencer said.

Emergency room staff asks people inside the cars about their symptoms, recent travels and whether they might've been exposed to someone with COVID-19.

“If they screen—we screen—and they come high risk, then they can stay in their car and then we could have a physician come out and see them in the car," Spencer said. "And also we can have a nurse come out and do the testing.”

The testing process involves a nurse taking a swab inside the nose. It's sent out to the county health department for results. But not all cases make it that far in the process because the symptoms are either not severe enough, or nonexistent.

"“If you do not have any symptoms, then we would not do the test,” Spencer said.

Similarly to hospitals across the country, SVMH said they're not testing everyone who drives up because Monterey County just doesn't have the resources.

“We would tell them that, if you’ve been exposed, you would go home and self-quarantine for 14 days,” Spencer said.

Doctors say if those people then develop serious symptoms while in quarantine, they should come back.