Coronavirus In Texas: The Sometimes Lengthy Wait For Test Results
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Waiting for COVID-19 test results can agonizing for people, but it can also be very frustrating when it takes a lot longer than promised.
The testing site by the American Airlines Center in downtown Dallas is where hundreds of people have come to find out if they are COVID-19 positive.
But the results are taking a lot longer than promised in some cases.
William Johnstone has had body aches, a cough and off-and-on fever since March 26.
His mother took the 15-year-old to the AAC for a COVID-19 test on April 1 and still hasn't received the results.
The paperwork she received said the results would take three to five days.
Seven days later, Linnea Johnstone says she only gets recorded messages when she calls the numbers provided.
"I can understand that they are backed up," said Linnea Johnstone. "I think though I've called the Dallas (County) Health (and Human Services) Department this morning and I've called Texas Department of State Health and nobody knows who to refer you to and that's kind of the problem."
CBS 11 asked Dallas County about the issue and received this statement from Lauren Trimble, Chief of Staff for Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins:
"The two drive-thru sites at AAC and Ellis Davis are actually federally based community testing sites, not run by the County. Tests from the two sites are sent to private, commercial labs (Quest and Labcorp)."
Doctor Diana Cervantes, an infectious disease epidemiologist says these public testing sites should be the top priority to prevent community spread.
"The public health lab is to offer the testing especially to people who are high risk to transmit the virus so they can get the results quickly to those people to prevent the spread," she said.
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