- This is causing delays in testing and getting results.
- These aerial photos show what coronavirus testing lines have looked like throughout the pandemic, from spring to summer.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
ADVERTISEMENT
Coronavirus testing sites across the US are overwhelmed. Aerial photos of long drive-thru lines in Texas, California, and Virginia show what that looks like.
As the coronavirus continues to spread across the US, testing sites and laboratories are struggling to meet the demand.
dallas texas coronavirus line
ADVERTISEMENT
Andrea Rosales waited almost three hours for her son to get tested in Austin, Texas, and Galileo Gonzalez waited nine days for his results in San Antonio, the Texas Tribune reported in June.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Sergio Flores/Getty Images
ADVERTISEMENT
Source: Texas Tribune
Texas is one of 33 states where coronavirus cases are rising this week, per data from Johns Hopkins University.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Source: Johns Hopkins University
Across the country, coronavirus testing sites and labs are overwhelmed. On June 27, The American Clinical Laboratory Association warned it would soon reach testing capacity. By the week of July 10, Business Insider's Morgan McFall-Johnsen reported that some results were taking four to six days to come back.
ADVERTISEMENT
BusinessInsider USA Images
AP Photo/Seth Wenig
A coronavirus test involves swabbing a patient's nose and throat and then testing the sample. Results take at least 24 hours to become available, per The New York Times. When labs are overwhelmed with more swabs than they can test, the results can take up to a week or longer, McFall-Johnsen reported.
BusinessInsider USA Images
ADVERTISEMENT
Source: Business Insider , Business Insider , The New York Times
Testing supply shortages have also contributed to delays in Omaha, Nebraska, and Arizona, the New York Times reported on July 6. The Tribune reported that Texas was short on testing equipment in late June.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Source: Texas Tribune , The New York Times
When someone tests positive a week after being swabbed, it's possible that they have already infected others before knowing they had the virus. This makes quarantining and contact tracing less effective.
ADVERTISEMENT
BusinessInsider USA Images
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Source: Business Insider
This photo was taken on April 18 in Springfield, Tennessee, when the Tennessean reported that test results were expected to take about 72 hours. Last week, Tennessee Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey told the publication she has seen it take up to 12 days to get results back.
BusinessInsider USA Images
ADVERTISEMENT
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
Source: Tennessean , Tennessean
The photo was taken on April 30 in Woodland Hills, California, when Los Angeles tested about 10,000 people in one day, Mayor Eric Garcetti told the LA Times.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Source: Los Angeles Times
ADVERTISEMENT
Last week, the LA Times reported that the county can test 26,000 people a day, but some say results take more than a week. The photo below from July 8 shows long lines of cars at Dodgers Stadium.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Al Seib / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Source: Los Angeles Times
In South Florida, some labs are seeing wait times as long as two weeks for test results, the Sun-Sentinel reported on July 10.
ADVERTISEMENT
BusinessInsider USA Images
Source: Sun-Sentinel
This photo was taken on May 20, when the state's testing positivity rate, or the number of people whose results said they were infected with the coronavirus, was decreasing. Now, it's increasing.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Source: NBC12 , Johns Hopkins University
ADVERTISEMENT
In early July, NBC reported that some people in Virginia were waiting about a week to get results back.
BusinessInsider USA Images
Katherine Frey/The Washington Post via Getty Images
Source: NBC
See Also:
ADVERTISEMENT
- I was trapped on a boat in the Arctic for almost 5 months while on a science expedition because of the pandemic here's what it was like
- 15 racist brands, mascots, and logos that were considered just another part of American life
- The biggest questions parents and educators have about colleges reopening
FOLLOW BUSINESS INSIDER AFRICA
ADVERTISEMENT
Recommended articles
Congo is spending 22% of its scarce revenue on security - Minister
Another African country is set to get a Russian embassy
Medic West Africa 2024: A resounding success in fostering collaboration and innovation for a brighter healthcare future
10 African countries with the most troubling external debt in 2024
10 African countries with the least soft power influence over the world
Kenyan government rejects calls to ban TikTok, recommends tighter control over
Congo accuses Apple of conflict minerals in its supply chain
Top 10 African countries with the highest fuel prices in April 2024