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So Mizzou has a drive-through test they're administering for free and it's starting to really get hauling pretty nicely.
As of yesterday they'd tested about 1300 people (with rates climbing) and had something like 46 positives. So the positive rate remains exceptionally small (which still makes me question the 'a bunch of people have had this and didn't know it' theory - most people that have stuff that makes them feel bad STILL don't have this).
Average turnaround time on results is about 9 hours.
They're getting referrals from all over (including out of state) so these numbers aren't necessarily representative of any particular area, but they DO demonstrate the logic in the 'don't overwhelm your laboratory capacity' argument. We're being told that results for many people are taking 3 and 4 days and I HAVE to believe that's a result of labs simply having more cases than they can handle.
So again, I think the answer remains testing on a smaller scale until such time as we have the laboratory capacity to ramp up. You need to make sure people in healthcare and who are showing MAJOR symptoms can get results as quickly as possible.
You start testing anyone with the sniffles or anyone who had someone in their building pop positive, you're going to clog the pipes for people who's outcomes really could've been changed.
I expect Mizzou will be capable of firing out 1,000 tests/day in the next week or so - the capacity is coming online and its coming quickly. But in the interim, you have to maintain reasonable testing protocals.
Side note - I can say enough for how quickly/effectively Mizzou has responded to this thing. They're gearing up childcare for their healthcare providers and even campus housing for those that don't want to risk infecting their families. The drive-through testing facility has gone incredibly well and they are putting plans in place to fire up a 2nd one.
They're responding quickly and well, IMO. They have contingencies on contingencies. They're still at the mercy of availability in many respects but they're doing everything they can to stay on top of the situation.
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