As coronavirus continues to spread around the globe, the Georgia Department of Public Health is facing a major glitch in testing for the outbreak.
The Georgia Public Health Lab recently received a diagnostic kit from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to test for the virus. Like those sent to other states, a flaw in the kits made them unusable.
This means all testing must be done at the CDC, slowing efforts across the U.S. to track the movement of COVID-19, as the virus is known officially.
The situation is so serious that Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said he is asking the CDC if Hawaii can get testing kits from Japan, according to Hawaii Public Radio.
Georgia has one advantage over other states in getting specimens tested at the CDC – proximity to the lab. With the CDC based in Atlanta, health department workers can drive directly to the federal agency to drop the specimens off.
Georgia Department of Public Health spokeswoman Nancy Nydam said her agency is waiting for new test kits from the CDC. Once it gets them, it will take about a week to do a quality assessment, she added.
Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said earlier this week that there was no backlog or testing delays once the kits arrived at the CDC.
“I am frustrated like I know many of you are that we have had issues with our test. I want to assure you that we are working to modify the kit and hope to send out a new version to state and local jurisdictions soon,” she told reporters.
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According to the CDC, 445 people have been tested for the virus as of Wednesday, the most recent update,resulting in 15 confirmed coronavirus infections.
These numbers only include cases detected and laboratory tested inside the U.S. — not the 45 Americans flown back from abroad, including passengers on the quarantined Princess Diamond cruise ship in Japan.
The Georgia Department of Public Health would not disclose how many people in Georgia have been tested, but said there are currently no confirmed cases in the state.
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