GREENSBORO, N.C. — People wanting to get tested for COVID-19 at the StarMed testing site at Four Seasons Town Centre in Greensboro said they are seeing long wait times and some delayed test results.
Mary Eagle and her daughter went to the location on December 30th after being exposed to COVID-19 during the Christmas holiday. When they saw the long line of cars, they decided to go back home.
"The more we thought about it the more we thought about it’s only gonna get worse as the day goes on so we thought okay, we will go back," Eagle said.
Eagle said it was one of the only sites with availability, but they ended up waiting for three and half hours to get tested.
"We had taken our computer to potentially watch a movie and taken books, we were just gonna make ourselves at home," said Eagle.
StarMed closed early on December 30 to handle the demand of people already waiting for tests. The company said they have seen an average of 1000 patients daily at the Four Seasons Town Centre location.
"I knew that there would be a wait (...) especially after the holidays, after Christmas, and everybody being together but I had no clue that it would be this long, I really didn't. It was quite a surprise," Eagle said.
The long wait times continued Friday. Shane Johns waited two hours to get tested.
"I thought it would be pretty busy," Johns said Friday. "I thought it would be at least a two-hour wait. All the urgent cares are fully booked so two hours actually sounded good to me."
Johns received both a rapid antigen test and a molecular PCR test Friday. The rapid test came back in one hour. The StarMed Healthcare website says those results usually come back in 5-10 minutes. As of Saturday, neither Johns nor Eagle has received their PCR test results. StarMed says those can take anywhere from 48-72 hours after the end of the day you were tested.
"I'm still quarantining and will be until I hear the results," Eagle said. "So I won't be going to church tomorrow if I haven't heard the results."
The StarMed website says the result return times may vary depending on testing volume. If it has been more than 72 hours since your test in either Guilford or Forsyth County, you can call 704-222-0270. StarMed said to allow 24 hours for a response.