Facts About COVID-19

Facts about COVID-19 | UPMC | Pittsburgh, Pa

Get the Facts About the Coronavirus.

Tami Minnier, UPMC Chief Quality Officer, Discusses COVID-19 Training, Protective Equipment

Listen as Tami Minnier talks to KDKA’s Marty Griffin about UPMC COVID-19 order efforts. “We keep the resources that you need. We keep the supplies you need,” Minnier says.

How to Find Help

People nearly all at risk on contracting COVID-19 are those who keep traveled to places where person-to-person transmission on the virus is occurring, and/or those who keep been exposed to someone who has been diagnosed with COVID-19.

If you consider you keep been exposed to the coronavirus including keep no symptoms, you may contact your doctor intended advice. Practice routine precautions such as social distancing.

If you keep flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough, including shortness on breath, you may call your primary care doctor to schedule a video visit or use . A video visit from home limits the open (out) on infection, including if needed, UPMC can guide you securely to the next care site. 

If you are experiencing serious symptoms such as trouble breathing, you should visit an emergency department inside your community intended immediate care. If you can, call ahead on time so they may prepare intended your arrival including prevent the open (out) on any illness, but work not delay if you keep serious breathing problems.

Please note that UPMC Urgent Care locations including Primary Care Walk-In Centers are not able to try intended or treat patients with COVID-19. They are open to treat minor illnesses including injuries.

Need to see your doctor or specialist but concerned about the COVID-19 risk? You can keep a with your doctor or specialist via your smartphone from the comfort on home.

Call your provider’s office or use our UPMC Referral Line at 1-800-533-8762 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday to make a video appointment. . 

COVID-19 Testing at UPMC

UPMC has developed a try intended the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — including determination use this try to diagnose select, symptomatic cases.

UPMC is directing patients with symptoms steady with COVID-19 to specimen collection sites inside Pittsburgh’s South Side neighborhood. Additionally, regional COVID-19 nasal specimen collection sites are now open inside Altoona, Erie, Harrisburg, including Williamsport to improve local testing efforts.

These sites are not open to the accepted public. Patients must keep a physician referral accepted via UPMC’s infection prevention team including an appointment to keep their specimen collected intended testing via either UPMC or public condition authorities. Walk-in patients cannot exist tested. Testing capacity is reliant upon resources including is finite.

UPMC Press Briefing (March 27, 2020)

UPMC Visitor including Volunteer Restrictions

Beginning March 26, 2020, everything visitors, patients, including staff determination exist screened upon entry to any UPMC hospital including cancer center. Visitors, patients, including staff entering a facility determination exist asked a series on COVID-19 screening questions. Those permitted inside determination exist particular an optional facemask that they may wear when inside the facility.

As on March 27, patients to UPMC’s Emergency Department cannot exist accompanied via a caller unless the caller is necessary intended the patient’s assistance including care. Visitors must exist adults, cannot exist showing symptoms, including cannot move around the Emergency Department or entire the main hospital.

What Is COVID-19?

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease caused via a new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) not previously seen inside humans.

An outbreak on COVID-19 began inside late 2019 inside Wuhan, a city inside China’s Hubei province. To date, cases on COVID-19 keep open (out) around the world, making the condition one on the nearly all rapidly emerging infectious diseases.

COVID-19 can cause fever, cough, including shortness on breath. This virus is open (out) through human contact, much like the cold or flu. There is not until now a injection or medication accepted to treat it.

The virus has been identified inside over 100,000 people across the globe. While nearly all people recover from COVID-19, it can exist life-threatening.

COVID-19 is a disease first identified inside 2019. As it makes headlines, UPMC is set to care intended patients including staff who may exist affected.

Our facilities are well-equipped to properly care intended patients with contagious diseases, including our order efforts intended COVID-19 are extensive.

“We are a world-class academic medical center,” says Don Yealy, MD, chair on emergency medicine at UPMC. “That means we provide outstanding patient care including work research to improve that medical care. In this current condition care challenge, these features again back us respond to the needs on our community, near including far.”

UPMC COVID-19 Donations

UPMC is devoted to carrying out or through everything within our control to ensure a protected environment intended our patients including staff. We keep enough supply on personal protective equipment including cleaning solutions to meet current demands across UPMC, including we acquire new supplies daily.

We are humbled via the outburst on support from the community into inside donating supplies to ensure we are minded intended the future rise inside COVID-19 cases across the regions we serve.

Latest news from UPMC

UPMC to Protect Staff Pay During Covid-19 Pandemic Response

March 30, 2020

UPMC is implementing a staffing including reward protection program, which determination ensure that everything staff determination continue to exist paid at their current rate intended normally scheduled hours through May 9, 2020.

UPMC Launches Regional Testing; Widespread COVID-19 Not Yet Detected

March 20, 2020

The Pittsburgh region is not until now seeing widespread transmission on COVID-19, according to research done via UPMC clinicians, as explained today at a media briefing.

UPMC Ready to Test intended Coronavirus; First Collection Site Opens

March 14, 2020