Test capacity still a major problem in the US Abroad

A line already formed at sunrise at a test site in New Orleans. When the doors opened at 08:00 in the morning, testing was no longer possible after five minutes. In Phoenix, residents sometimes had to wait eight hours in their cars for a test.

Arranging sufficient tests was also a problem in the first months of the outbreak. Since then, according to the newspaper, the test capacity has increased considerably. Authorities conducted nearly 15 million corona tests in June, about three times more than in April.

However, a new test crisis would now threaten. That’s because of a combination of factors, such as shortages of certain supplies, backlogs in laboratories, and the explosive growth in corona infections in many states. Nationally, nearly 3 million infections have been diagnosed.

In San Antonio and some other cities, not everyone can be tested anymore. Only people with symptoms are eligible. “It is frightening. It clearly shows that the system is inadequate here, ”an expert at Johns Hopkins Hospital told the newspaper.

Governments are diligently seeking solutions. For example, the badly hit New York has its own test kits produced. About 30,000 people are tested there every day.

–