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See the latest news and updates about COVID-19 and its impact on the Charlotte region, the Carolinas and beyond.

Health Official: Mecklenburg County Received 3 Coronavirus Tests

coronavirus test
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mecklenburg County has limited coronavirus test kits from the CDC.

Mecklenburg County received just three coronavirus tests from the state and people should not show up at hospitals and medical departments requesting a test, Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said Friday.

"We were sent three tests, and what we were told is after you use those, we'll send you three more," Harris said. "So we have, again, limited access to that."

Harris also clarified at a news conference that Mecklenburg County has just one presumptive positive test for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus; the second in the area is in Cabarrus County.

People who think they might have the coronavirus should call their doctor -- he or she can order a LabCorp test, but it's unclear how many of those are available.

Harris said emergency rooms have been turning people away who have been seeking tests, and said the county is trying its best to ration tests for older adults or people with chronic health issues who are considered most at risk. 

"Please don't just show up asking for a test," Harris said.

The tests the county has are from the CDC.