HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — Health officials have said there's no testing shortage, and if you have COVID-19 symptoms, you can be tested. However, a Huntersville commissioner said that wasn't the case for him.
Lance Munger, a town commissioner in Huntersville, came down with COVID-like symptoms on Friday, October 2.
"I started to feel a little lethargic, and just didn't have a lot of energy," said Munger.
He later got a fever, experienced chills, fatigue, a cough, and was sick to his stomach.
"It was at that point I put everything together and though there might be something going on here," he explained.
He said he tried to get tested for COVID-19 on Saturday. He said he called Novant Health and was asked a series of questions.
"Have I traveled anywhere, have I had any contact with anyone who has COVID-19, do I have a fever," he said, as he rattled off a few of them.
After explaining his symptoms and answering the questions, he said he was told he didn't meet the threshold for a test.
He was baffled to say the least.
"That kind of put me back," he said. "There shouldn't be barriers to get tested."
He then called another healthcare provider but was denied there. Then, he finally got a scheduled test for Tuesday, four days after his initial symptoms, after calling his primary care physician.
"This has become a social experiment just to see how difficult it is to get this test," he said. "It's definitely a frustrating experience."
State health officials have long said: if you have symptoms, you should get a test.
"Anyone who has symptoms, or think they have been exposed to COVID-19, can get tested," Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services, said at a press conference on Tuesday.
That wasn't the case for Munger, who now questions if we really know how wide-spread COVID-19 is.
"I mean, if you're going to get an accurate portrayal of what's actually happening, here in Mecklenburg County and across the United States, even on a grander scale -- you have to test," Munger said as he asked health care providers to do so.
WCNC Charlotte reached out to Novant Health for comment on Wednesday evening, but had not heard back by the time this story was published.
Munger said on Wednesday night that he was feeling better as he isolates and waits on his test result.