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DENVER - Last week, Melissa tested positive for COVID-19 and scheduled an appointment for her boyfriend, who was asymptomatic, to also be tested.
“He took his test and they told him that the saliva test would come in a little bit faster, so he did the saliva test and he did not get his results until Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.,” Melissa told Denver7.
Melissa's boyfriend went through the entire isolation period before receiving his results.
“A full five and a half days after he had taken his test which, of course, as we all know, is the end of the isolation period,” Melissa said.
Melissa says her boyfriend took his test at a state-run facility. So did many others who wrote in to Contact Denver7.
Michael Morris took his family to get tested on Jan. 5. On Jan. 10, he wrote to Contact Denver 7, “We still have not received our results from this.”
Some viewers are also finding issues with COVID-19 rapid tests. One viewer wrote, “I got my free COVID test today that I ordered through the state. My daughter actually had symptoms today, so I decided to test her. Upon opening the kit, there were no swabs for the test.”
“I actually have a couple of friends who did have a good experience, and I don't know what changed in those last couple of weeks,” Melissa said.
On its website, COVIDCheck Colorado says in part, “Due to unprecedented testing volume, we are currently experiencing longer-than-normal turnaround times on test results. Some results may be delivered in 2-3 days, which is our normal turnaround time, but others are taking up to 5 days to deliver. We are actively working to reduce wait times.”
“I appreciate that the system is overwhelmed, and I don't really know how to solve this problem, but I think we have to look at what the consequences are and how much money we're putting into these tests,” Melissa said.
CDPHE told Denver7 in part, “There can be additional delays with the increased testing numbers we are seeing. The average turnaround time at our free community sites over the past month is two days. The average across all testing contractors for the past seven days is 2.4 days.”
