Dr. Frankovich readdresses lost tests and long turnaround times

HUMBOLDT COUNTY, Calif. (KIEM) – Public health officials readdress the issues of lost COVID-19 tests and long turnaround times. They say the backlog within the lab that the tests are getting sent to, is the problem.

Humboldt County was the first in the state to utilize a testing service like Optum Serve and as more counties are sending in tests, the quickness of results has slowed down.

Dr. Teresa Frankovich says a test being lost or a patient receiving a slow response may not be the only problem.

Sometimes indeterminate results can lead to retesting which results in a longer than expected turnaround time as well. 

Despite a delay in test results, Dr. Frankovich says she is not worried about the accuracy of the tests.