COVID Spreads As People Wait For Lab Results
In some areas, test results are taking a week or longer. That turnaround time could negate testing's ability to stem the spread of the virus, experts warn.
The Washington Post:
Coronavirus Updates: Officials Sound Alarms About Testing; LA 'on The Brink' Of New Stay-At-Home, Mayor Says
With coronavirus cases and hospitalizations climbing nationally, state and local officials from all over the country are sounding the same alarms heard early on in the pandemic: They’re missing key resources to confront the surge. They are weighing new restrictions and complaining of persistent backlogs in the mass-testing systems considered key to tracking and containing the virus, as the Trump administration seeks to block billions of dollars for states to conduct testing and contact tracing and billions more that Republicans lawmakers want to give the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Labs in some places are taking a week or more to provide results, and health experts say such wait times render tests near-useless in controlling the virus’s rampant spread. (Hawkins, Sonmez and Knowles, 7/19)
Boston Globe:
Testing Delays Hurt Effort To Contain COVID-19
Five months into the coronavirus pandemic, people in Massachusetts and across the country are often waiting up to a week or more to learn the results of their COVID-19 tests, seriously endangering efforts to contain and control future infections. The delays are largely being driven by a backlog at some of the nation’s largest laboratories, which process many of the tests from Massachusetts community health centers and businesses. The labs are struggling to keep up with demand caused by surging coronavirus cases in Southern and Western states. (Lazar and Moore, 7/20)
Philadelphia Inquirer:
U.S. Bungles Coronavirus Testing Again, This Time With Delayed Results Due To Hotspots, Lack Of Federal Coordination
When Madeline Santiago decided to take her 12-year-old daughter on vacation to see relatives in Puerto Rico, she didn’t count on a stressful side trip into the surreal world of COVID-19 testing. Puerto Rico now requires all visitors to prove they tested negative for infection no more than 72 hours before arriving in the U.S. island commonwealth — even though test processing in the United States is so backed up that getting results typically takes a week or two. (McCullough, 7/17)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia Signs Deal To Expand Coronavirus Test Processing
The state of Georgia on Monday announced a partnership with a North Carolina company to help alleviate a testing logjam that’s led to prolonged waits for coronavirus test results. The dramatic surge in coronavirus infections over the past month in Georgia has led to long waits for appointments and long lines at testing centers. Further complicating matters, Georgia residents have complained of waits of one to two weeks to get results from labs overwhelmed by demand. (Trubey, 7/20)
CNN:
US Coronavirus: Surge In Cases Has Left Labs Overwhelmed And Covid-19 Tests Delayed
More Americans are testing positive for coronavirus all over the US at record-breaking numbers and the surge is slowing down testing. Labs across the country are now facing what seems like an almost "infinite" demand, one expert says. (Maxouris, 7/21)
