Georgia’s Coronavirus Testing Capacity To Double
Georgia’s top public health official says the state’s ability to test for coronavirus is about to double.
The state can currently test 50 patients a day for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus. By the end of next week, the hope to be able to test 100 a day.
“We got additional shipments of materials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to allow us to do this testing,” said Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health as a press conference Thursday.
She said that expands her agency’s testing capacity to about 500 patients, and that she could request more testing materials from the CDC if needed.
For weeks, like many other states, Georgia relied on the CDC to run its tests. It started processing samples on its own last week but still relies on the federal public health agency to confirm its results. Toomey said that double-checking is likely to end next week.
For now, the state has focused on testing the “highest risk” patients, such as people who have been hospitalized or who have chronic health conditions. Toomey said that’s likely “skewed” Georgia’s current case counts.
“The more we test, the more we’ll understand where the virus is,” she said. “As we do more testing, we’ll get a better picture of the statewide spread of the epidemic.”
State public health officials have detected more than 30 cases of COVID-19 across the state. One has resulted in a death.
Some public health officials worry without widespread testing, it’s hard to know where or how the coronavirus might be spreading. That could allow it to move around undetected.
Toomey said she hopes more Georgians get access to testing soon.
That could come from a doctor who uses one of the few private companies that offer testing, from a hospital that’s developed its own test, or from a testing site that’s not associated with a health care facility.
“Our goal is to have those set up statewide, not just in [the] metro area,” Toomey said. “And some of those will be set up as early as Monday.”
Public health officials say rapid, easily-accessible testing has shown to be effective in fighting the coronavirus. They say that’s one thing that’s helped places such as Hong Kong and Singapore keep their outbreaks under control.
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