The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Holiday travelers put a strain on testing,
Many rush to get results before reuniting with family at Thanksgiving.
With coronavirus cases surging and families hoping to gather safely for Thanksgiving, long lines to get tested have reappeared across the U. S. — a reminder that the nation’s strained testing system remains unable to keep pace with the virus.
The delays are happening as the country braces for winter weather, flu season and holiday travel, all of which are expected to amplify a U. S. outbreak that has already swelled past 11.5 million cases and 250,000 deaths.
Laboratories warned that continuing shortages of key supplies are likely to create more bottlenecks and delays, especially as cases rise across the nation and people rush to get tested before reuniting with relatives.
“A s t h o s e c a s e s i n c r e a s e , demand increases and turnaround times may increase,” said Scott Becker, CEO of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. “So it’s like a dog chasing its tail.”
Lines spanned multiple cit y bl ocks at t e s t i ng s i t e s ac ros s New York City this week, leaving people waiting three or more hours before they could even enter health clinics. In Los Angeles, thousands lined up outside Dodger Stadium for drive- thru testing.
“This is insane,” said 39- yearo l d C h a u n t a Re n a u d a s s h e entered her fourth hour waiting to enter a so- called rapid test
ing site in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Renaud and her husband planned to get tested before Thanksgiving, when they will drive to pick up her mother for the holiday. “We got tested before, and it wasn’t anything like this,” she said.
On the one hand, the fact that testing problems are only now emerging — more than a month into the latest virus surge — is a testament to the country’s increased capacity. The U. S. is testing over 1. 5 million people per day on average, more than double the rate in July, when many Americans last faced long lines.
But experts l i ke Johns Hopkins University researcher Gigi Gronvall said the U. S. is still fall
ing far short of what’s needed to control the virus.
Gronvall said the current testing rate “i s on its way, but it’s nowhere close to what’s needed to shift the course of this epidemic.” Many experts have called for anywhere between 4 million and 15 million daily tests to suppress the virus.
Trump administration officials estimate the U. S. has enough tests this month to screen between 4 million and 5 million people a day. But that doesn’t fully reflect real- world conditions. The tests used at most testing sites rely on specialized chemicals and equipment that have been subject to chronic shortages for months.
Adm. Brett Giroir, the U. S. official overseeing testing, downplayed reports of lines and delays earlier this week. In some cases, he said, lines are caused by a lack of scheduling by testing locations, which should stagger appointments.
“I’m sure that is going to happen from time to time, but we’re ag gressively helping st ates i n any way that we can if there are t hose kinds of i ssues,” Giroir said Monday.
Marguerite Wynter, 28, stood in line for more than two hours t o get a t est Monday at a Chic ago si te. She plans on f l ying to see her mother in Massachusetts for Thanksgiving and staying through Christmas. Massachusetts requires visitors to quarantine for two weeks or show proof of a negative test.
“It’s just more to be safe being around my family,” Wynter said. “It’s just to have peace of mind to know that I’m OK.”
In California, health officials have given mixed messages about whether residents should get tested before the holiday.
San Francisco’s Department of Emergency Management warned that people should not use a test to determine if they can travel. But Contra Costa County, across the bay, suggested anyone insistent on gathering with friends or relatives should get tested.
Since Sept. 15, the daily count of U. S. tests has increased nearly 100%, based on a seven- day rolling average. However, the daily average of new COVID- 19 cases has increased over 300%, to more than 161,000 as of Wednesday, according to an AP analysis.