One of the most common issues with people who are actually concerned that they may have COVID-19 is where the heck to get tested. And if you do get tested, when will the results be back. Sometimes it’s just a couple days but there are reports of anywhere from 6-10 days for test results. With a waiting period like that, unless people are on strict quarantine while waiting for results, it becomes nigh impossible to do any contact tracing or know that even if that test result comes back negative, that you might not have picked it up somewhere else in the meantime. Although all of these can be managed per the CDC by social distancing or wearing a mask.
In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp announced on Monday another measure aimed at improving test results and helping to shine a light on the virus that is mucking up all our lives. Together with the Georgia Department of Public Health, Kemp announced a partnership with North Carolina-based Mako Medical to provide testing supplies and services for processing 10,000 COVID-19 tests per day, with a results time within 48 hours.
“Georgia has dramatically expanded testing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Governor Kemp. “As demand for testing has soared across the country, many private labs have been unable to process tests quick enough to aid in contact tracing and mitigation efforts. With some Georgians waiting well over a week for their results, the status quo is unacceptable. This new partnership will not only expand the number of tests the state is able to administer, but also greatly reduce the turnaround time of those tests. This is vital to Georgia’s efforts in our fight against COVID-19.”
The state has seen a steady increase in daily cases since opening back up in May but the fatality rate does appear to be dropping steadily as well as treatment has improved and increased testing has allowed for possible earlier discovery of infection and thus earlier possible treatment for at-risk patients.
“As we continue our efforts to combat COVID-19, expanded and streamlined testing is absolutely crucial,” said Kathleen Toomey, M.D, M.P.H., Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health. “Our contract with Mako Medical will boost test processing capabilities and enable our army of contact tracers to respond quicker to newly identified cases.”
Mako Medical is still a young company, starting up in 2014 after CEO Chad Price was fed up with waiting on test results for his special-needs sister. Since then, the company has done quite well, seeing growth from $92 million in 2017 to $125 million in 2018. That number was expected to be somewhere around $200 million this year but with the demand from COVID-19 for a company just such as theirs, there is no telling where that number might end up.
“Mako Medical is honored to assist the state of Georgia in the fight against COVID-19 by deploying our testing capabilities. Mako Medical reserved capacity for the state of Georgia to maintain an average 48 hour turnaround time, which is key to COVID-19 response efforts,” said Josh Arant, Chief Operating Officer at Mako Medical Laboratories.
