As commercial- and hospital-based testing for the new coronavirus becomes more available, state guidance for doctors treating suspected patients has widely expanded the pool of who can be tested.

New guidelines allow for testing people who live in nursing homes or other congregate living facilities, patients deemed to be public health concerns after being evaluated by medical professionals, hospitalized patients with unexplained respiratory problems, and people at higher risk of complications for whom a rapid diagnosis would benefit their treatment.

The newest guidelines for health care providers were released Friday by the Illinois Department of Public Health.

Early testing targeted those people most at risk, and it remains true that not everyone who wants a test can get one. Early on, a health care provider could seek a state laboratory test for people who were symptomatic, had contact with a known patient and if other illnesses had been ruled out.

After officials found their first case of community spread, meaning they confirmed a coronavirus case but couldnt find a link to a previous patient, the guidance changed again, dropping the contact-with-prior-patient requirement but limiting tests to those who were severely ill.

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Illinois health department expands coronavirus testing guidelines | Health, Medicine and Fitness - Journal Gazette and Times-Courier