State seeks claims of people who didn’t get tested but got results

Gov. Ron DeSantis said he has become aware of people in Florida claiming they went to get tested for coronavirus, left for various reasons before getting swabbed, and then received positive results.

He asked the public to come forward if this happened to them.

“For that to come back positive, when there was no specimen submitted, is problematic, so I’ve heard it enough to be concerned about it,” DeSantis said at a news briefing on Thursday in Melbourne. “I asked the Department of Health to look at that … if people that have told you that are willing to provide their name, we’re interested in investigating this, because it’s ridiculous.”

Officials with the Florida Department of Health, which is responsible for releasing information about testing, recently said contact information for individuals at drive-thru testing sites is collected only as they are about to be tested. If an individual provided their information, it is likely that they were also tested.

“At this time, we have not had any reports of individuals receiving results from the site without being tested. Results are distributed via labs and questions about false results should be directed to the appropriate testing lab,” the Department of Health said.

At least four companies who each operate multiple test sites in South Florida also say this scenario of receiving a positive result without being tested is highly unlikely.

Brooke Liddle, the spokesman for American Medical Response, which administers testing at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale and three other South Florida locations, says paperwork with a test taker’s information (email or phone number) is filled out just before the test is administered.

“The paperwork is sent with the test to the lab. The lab wouldn’t have paperwork unless there is a test to go with it,” he said.

CDR Maguire, which operates 12 testing sites in Florida, described a similar process: “Patients register right before the test is taken. The person collecting the specimen verifies their name and date of birth prior to collection to ensure the information is correct on the specimen vial.”

At Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, one of the sites mentioned in a social media tweet, test site spokesman Mike Jachles said, “We gather no client information before they arrive to be tested.” Jachles said if someone leaves the line before getting swabbed, their lab requisition is shredded.

“That scenario is nonsense,” he said. “It is not consistent with the operations at the site.”