By Christina A. Cassidy
Associated Press (AP), June 25, 2020
... Having access to quick test results will play an important role in resuming sporting events, keeping businesses and factories open, and returning to school in the fall. But the AP survey found it sometimes still takes days for results to be returned, despite an increase in the availability of testing across the country. ...
Judy Clinco, owner of Catalina In-Home Services in Tucson, Arizona, has had to test about 30 of her 110 staffers, who provide care and assistance to seniors in their homes. They are not able to visit clients until the results are back, which typically takes a week to 10 days.
As many as seven employees have been sidelined at once, Clinco said.
“During that time, the caregiver is not working. We are subsidizing their wages, and it’s a financial burden to the company,” she said. “It leaves us with one less caregiver to be on assignment, and that leaves us short-staffed.”
Public health experts say testing delays present a major hurdle to reducing infections and tracking those who have been in close contact with a person who is positive for the virus. ...
Copyright 2020 Associated Press