It seems like you've done the research here: how do you know how you are supposed(?) to do the test in the US?
Here in my municipality in Norway the media keeps repeating how/where/when to get tested, and if anything important changes the municipality will literally send a SMS to all its citizens to ensure as many as possible are up to date.
From my admittedly limited experience with the US (NYC/tri-state area) I get the impression that information is often hard to find and hard to understand. This could of course be caused by cultural or lingual differences since I'm neither American nor a native English speaker.
It may be hard to find if you aren’t use to it. Normally you would call your doctor/clinic and schedule a test for the next day or so. A lot of times you can get into an office for a test same day (this is how you get sick notes for school) although it may not be with your preferred doctor and may just be a nurse giving the test. For covid, since it’s so widespread, there have been testing centers setup almost everywhere and a quick Google should give you a list of the closest ones. Again you can always go to a regular clinic for testing but they may not have same day service.
The emergency room is the last place you’d go for a simple test. The only reason you should go to the emergency for a test is if it’s heart related or you think you may die (an emergency.)
Here in my municipality in Norway the media keeps repeating how/where/when to get tested, and if anything important changes the municipality will literally send a SMS to all its citizens to ensure as many as possible are up to date.
From my admittedly limited experience with the US (NYC/tri-state area) I get the impression that information is often hard to find and hard to understand. This could of course be caused by cultural or lingual differences since I'm neither American nor a native English speaker.