The backlog occurred after a lab in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., where the company’s testing started, became overwhelmed, according to a company statement cited by NPR. In the first two weeks of testing, a sharp influx of test orders outpaced Quest’s growing capacity.
Quest expanded testing to two other labs and is using a new, faster test at 12 sites across the U.S. The company can process over 30,000 COVID-19 tests a day, cutting the backlog from 160,000 tests March 25 to 115,000 currently.
Quest can now turn around tests in four to five days on average, though some tests can be completed within 24 hours for high-priority patients, such as healthcare workers or critically ill individuals.
The company’s statement said it is more confident now in its ability to meet demand, but “this crisis is fluid and unpredictable, and so is the demand for COVID-19 testing.”
Testing problems are hardly limited to private companies. Hospital, state, local and public health labs are also experiencing backlogs.
Labs are also required to report results to the federal government so the pandemic can be tracked. The government had only received about 50 percent of lab results on April 2, said Deborah Birx, MD, of the White House coronavirus task force.
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