Erik's wife, Alyson, and son, Stanford, 7, went into isolation, too. On Feb. 3, Stanford began coughing. Right away, the family took advantage of his school's free rapid testing program. Stanford also tested positive for COVID-19.
Aches, fever and chills cropped up in Stanford for a day and then passed, although his congestion and cough took about a week to subside. Alyson, a sound engineer for podcasts and other recordings, never tested positive despite repeated at-home tests.
Erik tested negative a week or so after his initial positive, but not all symptoms faded — fatigue still follows him — worrying Alyson and Erik about the possibility of long COVID.
Washington State Department of Health is your resource for answers to questions about COVID-19 testing, including when to test for COVID-19, where to test, and what to do if you test positive. More information at
When to test, what to do if you test positive
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When to test
When to test after exposure
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You just scored tickets for a big indoor concert this weekend.
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This May, you'll be joining friends and family (including great-grandma) for a wedding.
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You're going to Canada for the weekend.
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You just found out your coworker tested positive for COVID-19, and you went out for lunch together yesterday.
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The bags are packed and you'll board a plane in a few days, and return in a few weeks.
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You have symptoms —and you can't tell if it's a cold, food poisoning, allergies, the flu—or COVID-19. But you're fairly certain it's just allergies.
Would you know when to test?
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You’re vaccinated and booked a cruise ship vacation in a few weeks.
You have symptoms—and you can't tell if it's a cold, food poisoning, allergies, the flu—or COVID. But you're fairly certain it's just allergies.
COVID-19 symptoms can vary quite a bit from person to person. So test if you experience any of the following: fever, cough, fatigue, headache, sore threat, nausea, congestion or runny nose, body aches. And of course, that infamous symptom—new loss of taste or smell.
You just scored tickets for a big indoor concert this weekend.
Washington state businesses and event spaces may have testing and/or vaccination requirements before entering an establishment or event. Call ahead or check their website before you visit.
This May, you'll be joining friends and family (including great-grandma) for a wedding.
Testing for COVID-19 before a big gathering helps protect the unvaccinated or anyone at risk of severe disease—you never know you never know who may be vulnerable.
You've booked a cruise ship vacation in a few weeks—but you're vaccinated.
Vaccinated or not, cruise ships typically require a viral test 2-3 days before boarding.
You're going to Canada for the weekend.
Check current rules for details, but you'll need to test to enter Canada by car or boat, along with proof of vaccine status. You do not need a negative test to reenter the U.S. by car or boat.
You just found out your coworker tested positive for COVID-19, and you went out for lunch together yesterday.
Even if you're not showing symptoms, it's smart to test after spending time with someone COVID-19 positive. Wait five days after the exposure and then test. If you're showing any symptoms, test right away.
The bags are packed and you'll board a plane in a few days, and return in a few weeks.
You may need to test before hopping on a plane, depending on where you're going. You may also need to test after traveling, if reentering the U.S. by plane from certain destinations. Check the CDC’s latest travel guidance.
How to test
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What to do if you test positive
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Rest, drink plenty of fluids, and report your case to the Washington State Department of Health by calling the state COVID-19 hotline, 800-525-0127 then press #. Calling in your positive result to the Washington State Department of Health can produce at least two wins.
First, you help improve accuracy in case reporting and second, the Washington State Department of Health can connect you to services called Care Connect. Care Connect can help arrange food and medication delivery services while you're isolating at home or offer financial assistance, for example.
It's also smart to tell any friends or family you've spent time with recently, so they'll be on alert for symptoms. If your grandmother's immune system is compromised, she may be able to connect to medications that rely on early diagnosis for treatment. WA Notify is an effective way to also anonymously alert people you don’t know but may have come in contact with.
As the Castonguays experienced, even mild symptoms should prompt getting a COVID-19 test. For example, many children might have mild symptoms, says Dr. Tao Sheng Kwan-Gett, chief science officer at the Washington State Department of Health. But kids can still transmit COVID-19 to others even if they have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. A COVID-19 infection causing a child's sniffles could lead to a hospital stay or worse for someone with a higher-risk chronic condition — such as heart disease, chronic lung disease, or diabetes.
At times, testing is required by employers or school districts, to prevent infecting others and help stop community spread. Early detection can help you access the medications that are now available to treat the condition and reduce the risk of serious illness.
"If you have a chronic condition putting you at higher risk, you could be a candidate for antiviral medication or monoclonal antibody treatment that reduces hospitalization or death," Kwan-Gett says. Some of these cutting-edge treatments are available for kids as young as 12.
Kwan-Gett points out that we can't assume COVID-19 is always mild in children. There were 36 hospitalizations among children and youth in Washington state from Feb. 20, 2022 to March 06, 2022. In Washington, COVID-19 has led to the deaths of more than a dozen children, many with high-risk conditions.
For maximum effectiveness, these treatments must start within a limited time window — for example, within five days of the onset of symptoms. Medications begun after five days aren't effective at helping at-risk patients stay out of
the hospital.
If you were exposed to a person who recently tested positive but you don't have any symptoms, should you test right away or wait? "Some people have the misconception that the sooner you test after exposure, the better," Kwan-Gett says. The test could display a false negative if you test too quickly. Instead, wait to test until five days after exposure, if you continue to stay symptom-free.
If exposed while vaccinated, you don't need to quarantine or stay home while waiting to test — it's OK to visit healthy people until you get that negative test on the fifth day. Those who are at higher risk of having severe symptoms may ask you to postpone or visit outside.
However, test right away if you develop a fever, get a sore throat, lose your sense of smell or taste, or show other symptoms of COVID-19.
Testing can be done at home, at a community testing site or with a health care provider. At-home tests are often known as "rapid antigen tests." A PCR test can take a day or two for results, and may show a positive result months after an infection, even if you're no longer infectious. An at-home test offers immediate results, but has a higher risk of returning a false-negative result.
To reduce your chances of a false result, closely read the manufacturer's instructions. For example, you might miss how long to rotate the kit swab through your nostril. Without enough infected cells due to improper collection, even someone with a severe case of COVID-19 might test negative.
Even though most of their COVID-19 symptoms have subsided, the Castonguays still test at home before having visitors in their house and when seeing Erik's mother. Out of concern for others, Alyson Castonguay bought the maximum number of tests her insurance would reimburse — 8 per person in January and February. She also received a free test kit from Washington state and two free test kits from the federal government.
"We have plenty of tests to test before travel, visiting others, or having friends over with unvaccinated young children," she says.
In some areas of Washington, infections are on a downward trend, but we can't completely relax — yet. Hospitalizations and deaths are still high in some areas, and some vulnerable neighbors and family are still at risk of severe disease and poor health outcomes. And new variants can arise at any time, posing a risk of new waves of infection. "The pandemic is not over," Kwan-Gett says.
doh.wa.gov/testing.
Home testing
Community testing site
Health care provider
Free at-home tests are available through the federal and state government. Insurance providers will now reimburse each person on the plan for up to eight tests per month.
Home testing
The WA State Department of Health website maintains a directory of testing sites available in each county.
Community testing site
Contact your health care provider or clinic to find out about testing options available to you.
Health care provider
Waking up on Jan. 29, 2022, Erik Castonguay, 46, felt a little under the weather — a runny nose — not unusual to pick up colds from guests while working as a hotel supervisor. But at work, a rapid test showed Castonguay, a Washington resident, was positive for COVID-19 infection.
Sent home to quarantine, Castonguay wasn't too surprised. He'd been vaccinated and boosted, but omicron was swirling. He used an at-home rapid test to double-check results. Another positive result. The symptoms soon set in — aching knees and elbows, runny nose, mild fever and fatigue.
Erik Castonguay (right) and his family, wife, Alyson, and son, Stanford, went into isolation when Erik tested positive for COVID-19 in February. (Courtesy of the Castonguay family)
