COVID-19 Testing at WCU Health Services

If you are experiencing symptoms that could be attributed to COVID-19, which might be any of the following:

• Nasal congestion or runny nose
• Sore throat
• Fever or Chills
• Cough
• Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
• Muscle or body aches
• New loss of taste or smell
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

Call Health Services at 828-227-7640 to discuss your symptoms and testing needs with the COVID-19 Triage Nurse.

If you have had a close contact with someone that has tested positive for COVID-19, defined as: 

• You were within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes
• You Provided care at home to someone who is sick with COVID-19
• You had direct physical contact with the person (hugged or kissed them)
• You shared eating or drinking utensils
• That person sneezed, coughed, or somehow got respiratory droplets on you

Call Health Services at 828-227-7640 to discuss your potential exposure and the most current CDC directions regarding testing after an exposure.

If you are asymptomatic, but would like to have a screening test to ensure you do not have COVID-19: 

Free home tests are available for pick up at the Health Services Bird Building at the check-in desk on the lower level.

If you have had a positive home test, but are concerned you need to verify your result:

Call Health Services at (828)227-7640 to discuss your case with a triage nurse; a lab based PCR test may be offered if confirmation is indicated

Rapid Antigen VS PCR testing:

Two types of testing are used to diagnosis active COVID-19 infections. Rapid, point-of-care testing allows for quick identification of positive cases. Negative rapid tests may need to be confirmed by a lab based PCR test for someone experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. A PCR test looks for the virus’s genetic material, while a rapid antigen test look for specific proteins on the surface of the virus.