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How Triad health departments are fighting the coronavirus through testing and tracing

In the Triad, the capacity to test and trace has gone up greatly since March. Now, a nationwide delay in getting test results back makes it harder.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — A key to fighting coronavirus is the ability to test and trace people who are positive. In the Triad, the capacity to do both has gone up greatly since March. Now, a nationwide delay in getting test results back makes the health department's job much harder. In some labs, it could take 6 to 10 days to find out if you are positive or negative.

Let's start with the numbers. In Guilford County, the health department alone has completed more than 6,00 tests. Right now,  6.67 % of them are positive.

Next door, in Forsyth County, 32,000 people have been tested overall and currently, 11.5% of tests are coming back positive. 

"That's a big number and that's just indicative of the amount of community spread that there is," assistant director, Denise Price, said it's a number she'd like to see come down. One way to do that is through testing.

"Testing is important because we have to know who's infected in order to slow the rate of infection in the community," she said.

There have been obstacles along the way since testing began in March - from access to tests to getting PPE. Now, it's taking longer to get those test results back. That means a person could infect more people before they even know they have the virus. 

"Sooner that folks know what their results are the sooner they can make sure that they are behaving in such a way as to not infect others if the community gets healthier," Price said.

Over in Guilford County, 17 nurses, including manager Susan Hawks, are currently investigating positive cases. Once a lab reports a positive test to the health department, they reach out to the patient to find out where they may have gotten the virus and who they've been around. Waiting on test results only puts them further behind.

"It does slow down the process because we do not get the lab work until the lab company or the provider sends it to us," Hawks said. "And there is a delay so often when we call the individuals they are close to the end of their isolation."

Hawks and Price both said the best thing people, who are waiting on test results, can do is stay at home and stay away from others. 

Meanwhile, Price said they've heard from their lab partners that the turnaround time for test results should get back to normal this week.

Both Forsyth County and Guilford County are offering more testing in the coming weeks.

In Forsyth, check out their website. They have an interactive map to find a testing site near you. They're updating that list often so make sure you check back.

Guilford County is wrapping up July coronavirus testing events. There is testing from 10:00 - 2:00 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the Griffin Recreation Center. It's an indoor event, so you'll need to wear a mask.

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