YORK COUNTY, S.C. — South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) is reporting significant delays in COVID-19 test results since the omicron surge in late December.
Some families reported waiting a week or longer for test results that they were told would take two to three days to process.
“We’ve been stuck at home," Hannah Sanders, whose daughters were exposed at school and tested last Thursday said. "Today they were like, ‘Oh, it feels better outside, let’s go to the park, and I’m like, ‘I don’t feel right about doing that.'”
DHEC said 97% of tests are processed at non-DHEC labs. In a statement, DHEC said it's actively addressing issues with multiple COVID-19 vendors.
"Large private labs such as Premier Medical Laboratory Services have fallen significantly behind due to issues ranging from the sheer volume of samples to COVID-related internal staffing shortages and still have not caught up or met contractually obligated deadlines to do so," DHEC said.
In an interview with WCNC Charlotte, Premier Medical Laboratory Services spokesperson Kristina Loughrey said the company has been dealing with staffing shortages and an overwhelming increase in testing volumes since the Omicron variant surged.
“Overnight on Dec. 17 we saw a 400% increase in the amount of tests coming in," Loughrey said. "And over the subsequent weeks we saw a 730% increase. That’s just since mid-December.”
Loughrey said since December, Premier Medical has hired 250 new workers and expects normal test times within two weeks.
“We realize that this negatively impacts people’s lives when they can’t get test results in that timely manner," Loughrey said.
DHEC said it had to take unprecedented steps because of the backlog.
"Additionally, some private testing vendors have fallen so far behind in reporting results that DHEC had to take the step of recommending those individuals finish what would have been their isolation time or return to work if it has been more than five days," Loughrey said.
DHEC is ordering 50,000 rapid testing kits to be distributed throughout the state, but they are not yet available. WCNC Charlotte asked DHEC if the delays are affecting the public COVID-19 data in South Carolina. DHEC said data is still reliable and reflects the latest trends.
Contact Indira Eskieva at ieskieva@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.
WCNC Charlotte is part of seven major media companies and other local institutions reporting on and engaging the community around the problems and solutions as they relate to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a project of the Charlotte Journalism Collaborative, which is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems. See all of our reporting at charlottejournalism.org.