JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Long lines for COVID-19 testing are becoming a thing of the past as more testing centers open up across the region.
But while there are more places to get tested, more labs are still needed to process the tests fast. In some cases, people are waiting over 10 days for results.
Dr. Saman Soleymani, president of Avecina Medical, said that his three locations overall perform 600 to 700 tests per day. The out-of-pocket cost for a test is $100, and most insurances are covering the cost through July 31.
The turnaround at Avecina is same-day, which Soleymani said is because everything is done in-house. That’s different from many testing sites that have to send the results to labs across the country.
The City of Jacksonville said the turnaround time for Mandarin Senior Center, Oceanway Senior Center, Lane Wiley Senior Center and Leroy D. Clemons Senior center is three to four days.
Jim Fortuna Senior Center and the mobile testing site at beaches have had typical turnaround times of seven to 10 days for results.
Quest Diagnostics is the lab that processes the tests at these locations. It says seven or more days is the average turnaround for results.
“The country is testing more,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis during a Monday news briefing. “The problem is they have 700-800 tests a day and the labs have gotten backed up and emergency management is going through and making changes as seen fit.”
Some of those changes include priority testing for those with COVID-19 symptoms. On Friday, symptomatic lanes were opened at the test site at Regency Square Mall.
“When we did our contracts with these private labs, they were guaranteeing a 48-hour turnaround. Well, that’s just not in the cards anywhere in the country,” Desantis said.
DeSantis said that realistically the results will come back in 72 hours.