Sick People Across the U.S. Say They Are Being Denied the Coronavirus Test

Christy Karras of Seattle tried to get tested after some people at a party she attended came down with flu-like symptoms. But her doctor did not have the test and advised her that it did not matter whether she had the virus: Either way, she had to stay home.

“From a public policy standpoint, that’s true,” Ms. Karras said. “From an individual standpoint, you really want to know what you have. It was very frustrating to me because we were all trying to do the right thing.”

Finally, Ms. Karras contacted the Seattle Flu Study, a research project to study the spread of influenza in the region. She ordered a kit, sent her sample and heard back: She was positive for the coronavirus. (Since then, the flu study has been told by authorities to stop doing that kind of testing since it is not properly certified.)

Even those who have good reason to think they may be infected are being denied testing.

The Grand Princess cruise had 21 people on board test positive for the coronavirus. After docking in Oakland, Calif., this week, passengers have been quarantined at military bases.

Peggy Moy, 71, a retired nurse and passenger, is still waiting to be tested. She had a sore throat and stuffy nose during the cruise, which she reported, but by the time she left the ship, those symptoms had gone away.

She is worried for her husband, who has lung cancer, and assumed, as other passengers had, that she would be tested as soon as she got to the base. So far that has not happened, though medical personnel have been taking their temperature twice a day.

Not knowing is making Ms. Moy nervous, as hundreds of people from the ship, mostly older guests, are in quarantine on the base now, and many of them may have been exposed to the virus. People are wearing masks, she said, but are still mingling in common areas, like the lobby where people get coffee and water. They take off their masks to drink and eat.