ORLANDO, Fla. — People across the state of Florida say they just want to know if they have coronavirus, but delayed testing is leaving them in limbo.
Now, they are calling on state leaders to work with private labs to deliver faster results, just like professional athletes are doing.
What You Need To Know
- Floridians reporting long waits for COVID-19 test results
- Pro-athletes in NBA bubble get weekly tests, quick results
- NBA. MLS have contract with private company
“Those delays are frustrating,” said Coleman Hedden.
“How is anyone supposed to go about their day or business, how is anyone supposed to go to Work?” asked Melanie Tolchin.
Both Tolchin and Hedden have been waiting on coronavirus test results. Tolchin got her test done at pop-up site in Palm Beach County on July 13. She didn’t receive her results until 15 days later.
“It’s frustrating, because the unemployment situation ... then adding that you are not able to get your test result in an accurate time means nothing… the fact that you can get a test 15 days ago and not get your results until 15 days later is incredibly inaccurate,” Tolchin said.
Hedden took a test before a Fourth of July visit with family in Georgia. That test took seven days and came back negative. Unfortunately, that visit exposed him to family members who were positive for COVID-19. Results from a second test took nearly two weeks.
“I just was struck by the fact that it took longer than my quarantine period to get a result of a test. It’s not like I was going to get a test for fun… I had been exposed to what was 5-6 positive (cases) of the coronavirus,” Hedden said.
While Melanie and Coleman’s tests are delayed, athletes inside the Disney World bubble are getting frequent tests weekly, with quick turnaround results.
“If an MLB player or NBA star staying at Disney ESPN Wild World of Sports can get tested every day and be in a little bubble, then every single person in America should be able to access a rapid test in their area,” Tolchin said.
How are pro-athletes getting faster results?
Spectrum News asked Gov. Ron DeSantis about the wait for test results.
“We are getting about 100,000 testing results a day now. These sports teams you are talking about, they will do a couple a 100 tests… so it is just much different in terms of the scale. If I only had 500 people in Florida testing, I could find a way to turn it around within 24 hours no question, but we have so many people,” DeSantis said.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings echoed the same sentiments, telling us money is a factor.
“They have contracted privately with labs to run the results, so the cost of that is being born by the NBA. So in this whole field of testing, the labs have so much capacity and to a certain extent, there may be financial incentives for labs to do certain things,” Demings explained.
We reached out to Major League Soccer and the National Basketball Association about their rapid test process and partnership with BioReference Laboratories, a company hired to provide coronavirus testing to players, coaches, and other staff.
In a statement, BioReference said in addition to providing testing for the MLS, the lab is working with the Major League Soccer providing COVID-19 antibody testing to the Orlando community. An antibody collection site was open to the public earlier this month.
While those added testing opportunities are welcomed, Melanie Tolchin and Coleman Hedden say quicker results mean a quicker return to some semblance of normal.
Meanwhile, DeSantis says he is looking to having state testing sites potentially provide quick turnaround locations for those people who need quick results due to work reason or serious health concerns.
NBA free testing will be held daily at Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets.
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July 30, 2020 at 09:31PM
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Floridians Frustrated by Delayed COVID-19 Test Results as Pro-Athletes Get Them Weekly - Bay News 9
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