As the number of confirmed infections in the U.S. has surpassed 4 million, some labs testing for COVID-19 are handling a heavy caseload, creating a backlog in their processing and causing long processing delays of 4-14 days to deliver test results.
Jay Solomon, CEO of Aviva in Sarasota, a senior community with a nursing home and assisted living facility, told AP on July 22 that results were taking up to 10 days to come back. ”It’s almost like, what are we accomplishing in that time? If that person is not quarantined in that 7-10 days, are they spreading without realizing it?”
The AP story, “U.S. Labs Buckle Amid Testing Surge,” reported that health experts say that test results that come back after two or three days are deficient, because by then, “the window for tracing the person’s contacts to prevent additional infections has essentially closed.”
