When a Dallas County sheriff’s deputy who had entered the apartment of the first patient to die from Ebola in the U.S. started feeling ill himself, he didn’t rush to the nearest hospital. He chose an urgent care clinic.

So did a man who recently traveled to West Africa and was complaining of flu-like symptoms, prompting the suburban Boston urgent care practice where he went to briefly shut down last week.

The deadly virus’ arrival in the U.S. has put the spotlight on weak spots in American hospitals, but those facilities are not the only ones who have suddenly found themselves on the front lines against Ebola.

Urgent-care clinics for many people have become de-facto emergency rooms. They are not, however, equipped like hospitals to treat serious illnesses, such as Ebola, nor do they have isolation units.

Clinics are urging potential patients to get checked for the highly contagious virus at a hospital.