In an about-face, the Arizona Department of Health Services has announced that anyone thinking they have been exposed to COVID-19 can now get tested.
That runs counter to the department's policy to reserve tests strictly for Arizonans with a doctor's order or specific symptoms.
Citing private health labs and the University of Arizona, Director Dr. Cara Christ said the state now has sufficient supplies to test those who have been exposed.
But not every one who wants a test can get one.
And the new rules require those tested to stay isolated until results return. If a test returns positive, isolation extends to a full week if there are no symptoms, and an additional 72 hours after a fever or other flu-like symptoms have stopped.
Arizona is still far from universal testing, at less than 1 percent of the population.
Of those who have been tested, 9% came back with positive results.
