Governments and businesses have instituted a variety of coronavirus vaccine requirements, some offering the option for regular testing instead of immunizations. People may need the tests for travel, work or returning to school. Individuals who may have been potentially exposed should follow CDC guidelines regarding self-isolation.” “However, turnaround time for test results may vary depending on laboratory testing demands and resources. “Generally, test results may be available in 48 to 72 hours,” he said. Officials have not said whether results from testing programs at schools and universities, private business or other venues are included in the total.ĭavid McCallister, a health department spokesman, said the state works with state-contracted labs on turnaround times. The state health department said the numbers, reported on a state website, reflect PCR tests electronically reported to the agency “by labs and other clinical facilities,” which are required to report positive tests. That could be a big potential cost for consumers and results may not be accepted for all purposes such as travel. For now, she’s expecting more people to turn to over-the-counter rapid testing. Gronvall said she plans more studies on testing times. The CVS test came back in 14 hours, while results from the state-run mass testing site at the Baltimore Convention Center came back in 74 hours, times she said show how “uneven and unpredictable” testing has become. She took her son, too young for vaccination, to be tested ahead of sleepaway camp during the summer and had him swabbed at two sites. “However, the de facto standard for travel and other things has been 72 hours.” “For people to isolate, the sooner the better,” she said. A dozen deaths were reported and 778 were hospitalized, the most since May.Įxactly how fast results are needed depends on the situation, said Gigi Gronvall, an immunologist and senior scholar at the Hopkins Center for Health Security. Infections in Maryland have been on an upswing since early July, with 1,272 added Thursday. More cases are prompting more authorities to ask for tests, for example, to enter a campus, office or school. The more reliable polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests from the health department confirmed those results three and four days later. In the meantime, Nuzzo purchased the BinaxNOW at-home COVID-19 tests, which came back negative.
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