Officials with Spectrum Health clarify different COVID19 tests, and results

by:Dana Whyte

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The process of getting tested for COVID-19 is pretty common nowadays, but many people wonder why it sometimes takes longer for results to come back.

And officials with Spectrum Health say they now have seven different platforms that they run tests on, and the different machines all have different turnaround times.

Spectrum says on average, they run around 3,000 to 4,000 tests a day at their sites across West Michigan. More than 400,000 people have been tested since the beginning of March.

They caution that result times can differ. For an employee, Spectrum’s goal is to have the result back within less than 24 hours but for community members they say it may take a little longer.

Susan Smith, the senior director of laboratory at Spectrum Health told News 8, “We’re trying to be under 48 hours, so from time of screening to you having the result in your MyChart app on your phone would be less than 48 hours. That is our strive."

She also clarified the different kinds of COVID-19 tests they perform and why they choose to use each one. 

See the full story: WOODTV.COM


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