Testing Delays Stymie COVID-19 Prevention Efforts In Georgia

A police officer directs cars into a coronavirus testing facility at Georgia Tech in April. Fulton County health officials say they’re collecting upwards of 3,500 samples a day to send off for testing at the state public health laboratory and two different private labs.

John Bazemore / Associated Press

A small group of people huddle near the entrance to a coronavirus testing site in Atlanta’s Old Fourth Ward neighborhood. It’s just before noon, and with little shade, there’s little respite from the mid-July sun.

William Zellars isn’t here for a test. He’s here for answers. Zellars took a bus across town just to find out whether he’d been infected with the coronavirus. Public health officials collected a sample from him for processing two weeks ago, and he still hasn’t received results.

“I have to go out for my food, mail; you know stuff like that. I just want to know, because I’m around people,” Zellars said. “I just wanted to know if I had it or not.”