Quest Diagnostics , the large private aesculapian examination companionship in the U.S. , expel a alphabetic character onMondaywarning that the average wait time for non - emergency coronavirus test results is presently at least seven solar day . The really chilling part : Quest says await time are n’t going to get any shorter while the U.S. keep to have the worst covid-19 irruption in the world .
“ We now have capacity to perform up to 125,000 molecular symptomatic tests a twenty-four hours , some double our capacity 8 week ago , ” Quest said in a letterposted online , lead with the more positive news . “ By the last of July , we expect to have the capacity to perform 150,000 molecular symptomatic trial a day . ”
Running 125,000 mental test a day may seem like a lot , and that ’s or so one - sixth of all tests conducted in the U.S. every day , but that ’s not even a fraction of the number that public health experts conceive the U.S. should be doing to curb the virus .
Cars line up for covid-19 testing at Miami Beach Convention Center on 1 March 2025 in Miami Beach, Florida.Photo: Joe Raedle (Getty Images)
The letter of the alphabet continues with the most distressing selective information , admit that thing are n’t move so great for people who need to get screen in a well-timed fashion .
“ Despite that dramatic increment , need for testing is increasing even faster . As a consequence , our average turnaround fourth dimension for report test results is slightly more than 1 day for our priority-1 patient . However , our middling turnaround time for all other populations is 7 or more day , ” Quest sound out in a command .
The seven “ or more ” days leaves plenty of wiggle room for the actual average , but the most pressing interrogative sentence leaven by this alphabetic character is who incisively qualifies as a “ priority-1 patient role ” ? harmonise to Quest , it includes people get going in for operating theater , existing hospital patients , and symptomatic healthcare workers . Healthcare proletarian without any symptom who want to get tested have to look in line with the ease of us .
The letter ultimately gets into the worst news by the death , warn that the intact medical research laboratory trial industry is scramble with an uncontrolled pandemic in the U.S.
“ We want affected role and healthcare supplier to get laid that we will not be in a attitude to reduce our reverse metre as long as typesetter’s case of covid-19 persist in to increase dramatically across much of the United States . This is not just a Quest military issue . The billow in covid-19 vitrine involve the science laboratory industry as a whole , ” the Quest letter of the alphabet reads .
The U.S. has identified at least 3.36 million typeface of coronavirus and over 135,000 demise , agree to the Johns Hopkins Universitycoronavirus tracker . Hotspots like Arizona , Texas , and California have figure a spectacular increase in case over the preceding week , with many hospitals running out of ICU beds , and Florida is the worst - hit region in good order now , report a book number of cases each day . Florida identify 15,299 case on Sunday alone , a new record .
But even those phone number are considered to be knockout undercounts of the real trouble . harmonise to former FDA commission Scott Gottlieb , who ofttimes seem on CBS News and CNBC , the actual act of infections in the U.S. is potential tens time higher than what states are reporting every day , and that ’s potential because DoS are only turn tail up against the maximum routine of tests they can perform . Using Gottlieb ’s estimate , Florida probably had at least 150,000 cases on Sunday .
When you get test for coronavirus , it ’s vital to get a well timed result to assess whether you should self - isolate and help slow the spread to your family , your Friend , and the broader world . But many Americans have complain on societal media about waitress at least10 daysfor their results , with some people even wait as long as 22 twenty-four hours for results in Arizona . This new announcement from Quest Diagnostics confirm the fair waiting time for test results is currently over a hebdomad and it ’s not puzzle shorter anytime soon .
Several right - wing medium and political figures promised throughout February , March , and even April that the U.S. would uprise to the affair and flap the Modern coronavirus through innovative technologies only uncommitted in America . But the U.S. is way behind other wealthy countries when it descend to battle the disease , for the most part thanks to a deficiency of provision by President Donald Trump , who consider the computer virus will just magically “ go aside ” one day , even without human intervention .
CNBC host Jim Cramer said on March 5 that the U.S. would n’t see a baneful pandemic like Italy was experiencing because America ’s wellness system was simplyfar superior .
“ In any pandemic of any major proportion , including the 1958 unbelievable flu season , there ’s always a number of people who die overseas , and the public health system is just so miserable overseas , ” Cramer say on CBNC on March 5 .
“ manifestly , it ’s very bad in Italy , ” Cramer added , which just is n’t true .
Just 159 Americans had been infected and 11 had died in Washington and Californiaat the clip . And nation had bear very few tests , unlike other wealthy state had done by March 5 . The U.S. lost at least a calendar month by trying to develop its own test in February , rather than use the test developed by the World Health Organization , which the relief of the world used to quickly stand up their testing regimes .
Depressingly , Florida had conducted just 29 tests by March 5 , as Gizmodoreported at the time . Colorado had done just 58 tests . Iowa had conducted eight exam . And Americans are still paying the price for that slow response on examination .
And former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney even say back onFebruary 28that “ socialised medicine ” in Europe would cramp the continent ’s ability to answer to the crisis and that mass would be able to get treated much quicker in the U.S. thanks to free - securities industry capitalist economy .
“ We jazz how to do this , ” Mulvaney told CPAC 2020 about handling health care during a pandemic . “ You do look at some of the European countries , and we sort of sit back and go … if you ’re already waiting in line , five week or six calendar week for something , and now a duet hundred mass get in front of you in line or a thousand citizenry get in line for coronavirus , what does it do to your healthcare system ? ”
“ They ’re already strained , because socialized medicine does not work , and it especially does n’t work in crises like this , ” Mulvaney continued .
That turn out to be bullshit , as Mulvaney took to CNBC on Monday with an op - ed to kvetch that his own family has been forced to waitroughly a weekfor run consequence :
I experience it is n’t popular to talk about in some Republican circles , but we still have a testing problem in this country . My boy was tested latterly ; we had to wait 5 to 7 days for result . My daughter want to get tested before visiting her grandparent , but was told she did n’t stipulate . That is simply inexcusable at this point in the pandemic .
There ’s plainly no sluttish local solution to the coronavirus pandemic , which is why every country that has successfully managed to slacken the spread has employed solution from the top level of regime . President Trump has shown he ’s plainly not interested in break the spread , lay the onus on private companies like Quest Diagnostics to fix the job . Quest obviously ca n’t fix this by itself , just as free - mart capitalist economy more generally will not be able to resolve any public wellness crisis alone . That ’s not necessarily Quest ’s fault . It ’s simply doing what ’s give-up the ghost to make it the most money .
Quest Diagnostics describe taxation of $ 7.73 billion in2019 . Quest ’s parcel price isup 9.4%since last year .
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