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NBC 10 I-Team: Rhode Island's asymptomatic testing not meeting demand


The NBC 10 I-Team looks into delays in asymptomatic testing in Rhode Island. (WJAR)
The NBC 10 I-Team looks into delays in asymptomatic testing in Rhode Island. (WJAR)
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Drive through, get swabbed for COVID-19, and get your test results in 48 hours or less. The Convention Center testing site in Providence is a big help to asymptomatic Rhode Islanders who need to be tested due to travel—if they can get an appointment.

Martin Newman of Providence and his wife got an appointment on Sunday before a planned trip to New York on Tuesday.

"We felt that it was prudent to get the test, just so we have that result,” Newman said.

He was surprised when the results came back quickly the day before the couple was scheduled to leave.

"I got my results this morning at about a quarter to 11. So it was less than 24 hours,” he said.

But the NBC 10 I-Team found others travelers weren’t as lucky. The Rhode Island Department of Health posted a message on its website, letting people know that “as a result of increased demand, asymptomatic test appointments may not be available through the self-scheduling portal at this time. New appointments are made available every day. Rhode Islanders without symptoms who are looking to schedule a test should check the portal for updated availability.”

NBC 10 checked those appointments on Wednesday, and found no availability for the next six days, with the first spot available on Tuesday, August 18th. Rhode Islanders who need an asymptomatic test can still get one at other sites across the state, but they’ll have to wait longer for the results—up to 7 days, or even longer in some cases.

Governor Gina Raimondo acknowledged the problem during her weekly press conference on Wednesday.

"Right now, the delays are too long. I'll be the first to say that,” Raimondo said.

She noted that test turnaround time is down from an average of 7 days statewide, to 4 days. But she admits the delays are still a major issue.

"It is inconvenient. 3 weeks from now, I hope it will be a lot better,” Raimondo said.

NBC 10 talked with Professor Dan Larremore at the University of Colorado, who started a project to track turnaround times nationwide by having people report how long they waited.

"We put out a survey to try to understand what do testing delays look like around the U.S.?" Larremore said. "There's a huge amount of variability. Some people report getting their results within one or two days. Other people are waiting two, sometimes three weeks."

Larremore said no state is doing a perfect job of turning around COVID-19 tests. So far, people in Rhode Island and Massachusetts have reported waiting anywhere from less than one day, up to a high of ten days for results.

"If the infection window of this disease is some number of days, every day that you delay those test results means that people can't act on that information. They can't protect the people around them,” Larremore said.

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