State And County Officials Say Lag In Coronavirus Test Results Is Due To Increased Demand
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Allegheny County and state health leaders say a lag in test results is due to increased testing.
It's not just an issue in Pennsylvania but an issue across the United States.
This morning, Quest Laboratories says its turnaround time for test results is now about one week.
The company said in a release that it has the capacity to perform up to 125,000 diagnostic tests a day, which is nearly double the amount from eight weeks ago.
Quest says despite the dramatic increase in testing capacity, the demand for testing is increasing faster.
Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, Dr. Rachel Levine, says the state has made calls to national labs to discuss ideas about getting results.
"The lag time for those national test results has crept up to a week and then sometimes to some more than a week, 10 days, we do have calls into labs to talk about the challenges and brainstorm with them but this is a national issue," she said.
Quest noted that it is looking to add new technology platforms and is considering additional partners for the lab referral program.
