Update on COVID-19 test kits

April 8, 2020–7:55 a.m.

STAFF REPORTS

Public Health Officials are saying that eventually there will be enough COVID-19 tests to meet the demand, but that could be months away.

Logan Boss with Northwest Georgia Public Health was a guest on Tuesday’s First News with Tony McIntosh and he said it’s getting better, but here in Georgia, we are still not where we’d like to be.

“For example, we had some test kits that were being delivered in the past week and literally as they were about to be unloaded, FEMA came and asked for them to be put back on the truck and sent to New York,” Boss said.  “There is a lot of shuttling of testing capabilities going on around the country right now.”

Remember, not everyone needs to be tested.

“I know a lot of people would like to be tested,” Boss added.  “However, not everyone, even some who are symptomatic, does not need to be tested.  People need to remember for about 80% of us who get this virus, we’re either going to have no symptoms or they are going to be very mild.  If we do have symptoms, we can self-isolate and self-treat at home.”

Earlier this week, CVS opened a rapid testing site on the campus of Georgia Tech in Atlanta and they hope to perform around 1,000 tests a day.

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