Gov. Newsom: Good News On Coronavirus Testing Coming, Despite Backlog
SACRAMENTO (CBS SF) -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday said he was hopeful that California would soon catch up on an existing backlog of coronavirus tests, even as the state ramped up COVID-19 testing.
During his afternoon address on California's response to the coronavirus outbreak, Newsom confirmed there is currently a backlog of 59,000 tests still being processed by labs. That backlog has created delays in results, with some patients waiting as long as 12 days before learning whether or not they have COVID-19.
"It's a national problem. Just one lab in the United States has a backlog of over 100,000 tests. Those large commercial labs are overwhelmed by the demand," said Newsom.
In addition to the uncertainty the delayed test results are making the test subject wait through, the backlog leaves an inaccurate picture of how widespread the outbreak is in the state.
Testing started slowly in California but has picket up considerably. As of April 1, approximately 92,500 tests had been conducted in the state. Nearly two-thirds of those results were still pending, according to state figures.
"The backlogs are not necessarily getting better, in real time, but we're hopeful," said Newsom.
Newer blood-based tests will provide far quicker results, reducing the wait for some, but the remains a shortage of tests and test components that are hampering the process, Newsom noted.
The governor also said that he would have good news in the coming days thanks to a new task force formed to address issues with testing protocols and increase the state's testing capacity.
