The COVID-19 virus has officially arrived in Warren County.

“We have been notified of our first positive COVID-19 patient in Warren, PA,” Warren General Hospital CEO Rick Allen said Wednesday morning. “This patient came to our emergency department and is not an inpatient.”

The patient is self-quarantined at home and is being monitored.

“All parties who have been in contact have been informed and appropriate next steps have been taken,” Allen said.

The hospital takes samples for testing, then sends those to Pittsburgh for resulting, Allen said. That is a recent change. The former testing location was in California. The turnaround time for test results has improved from six to seven days to two to three days.

A tent has been erected at the hospital’s emergency entrance – entrance E. That tent is used for screening patients. It is not a drive-up COVID-19 testing area, Allen said.

The hospital has a limited supply of tests. “Only those with severe symptoms will be tested for COVID-19,” Allen said.

The hospital has close to 1,000 tests on back order.