Coronavirus test 'nothing to be afraid of'

While most musicians are scrambling just to find an income during the coronavirus quarantine this week, one of the Twin Cities' more popular singer/songwriters had to figure out what it takes to get tested for the virus.

Jeremy Messersmith opened up on Twitter about taking a test Monday after suffering a sore throat, chills and fever for several days. He was still awaiting results at press time.

The point of making his experience public, it seems, was to underline how relatively easy it was to get tested once his brother (an emergency room doctor) told him he should.

"While it's uncomfortable, it's nothing to be afraid of," the Minneapolis singer, 38. He provided information on the primary testing site Oncare.org. Staff reviewed his answers, got back to him in a few hours and told him where to go for one of the "drive-through" tests outside a clinic in Brooklyn Park.

Here's how it went down from there, according to his post:

"I arrived at 11 a.m. when the clinic opened, then called a hotline. They took my information, and at around noon I got a call from staff working there. They came out to the parking lot in protective gear, gave me a sheet with quarantine information and then took a nasopharyngeal swab. They went over home quarantine guidelines and said I'll have the results in 3-5 days. 'Don't call us, we'll call you.' And that was that. The wait wasn't insanely long."

By Tuesday, though, requests for tests spiked swiftly enough for state health officials to limit them to hospitalized people, health care workers and care facilities, for the time being.