Florida Sees 10K New Cases, Testing Turnaround Slows

Tampa’s ABC News affiliate reports:

Florida reported 9,785 new coronavirus cases and 139 new deaths on Wednesday, the latest report from the state health department’s shows. Of the test results received Tuesday, 13.51% were positive.

Statewide, 379,619 people have been infected and 5,345 people have died since the beginning of the pandemic. Data shows an additional 463 people were hospitalized following a record day of hospitalizations.

Wednesday’s report shows the second-largest increase in deaths and the third-largest increase in hospitalizations since the outbreak began. The state had reported 517 new admissions on Tuesday.

CBS News reports:

Martin Torres waited seven hours in line for a COVID-19 test at Hard Rock Stadium, an open-air venue best known as the home of the Miami Dolphins, while showing what he believed to be symptoms of the virus. When he finally reached the front, he was told he’d get results back in five days. Two weeks later, he is still waiting.

In a statement responding to the demand in testing and the slower turnaround times, Quest Diagnostics, one of the major labs processing COVID-19 tests, said it will “continue to ramp up capacity to reach 150,000 molecular diagnostic tests a day.”

Florida, where the pandemic has recently spiked to nearly 370,000 confirmed cases, expanded testing capacity in response to problems surrounding testing access equity. But being a resident of a lower-income neighborhood still presents a challenge in terms of getting a COVID-19 test.