SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. — The huge one-day spike in positive COVID-19 cases in Shelby County is partly due to a backlog of tests making their way through the system.
Now a woman who was one of those waiting for test results is speaking out about the frustrations the delays cause.
Dawn Kinard happened to have a doctors appointment for a sinus infection the next day, so she also get tested for COVID-19.
That was July 3. It wasn’t until July 14, 11 days later, that she learned the results.
“I felt great, first, but secondly, I feel like l’ve lost a week and a half at work and doing things that I could have been doing, so it’s would have been nice to have gotten those results a lot sooner,” Kinard said.
That’s time she spent in self-isolation, away from family and away from work.
“I couldn’t go to work because I didn’t know if I was positive, so I’ve had to work from home, which is an inconvenience because I’m in the real estate business and the property management business, so I need to be on the job.”
Kinard is thankful for her co-workers who filled in for her during her week and a half away, but she knows not everyone is so fortunate.
“Hourly workers or workers that don’t get paid unless they’re on the job, definitely would impact their income,” Kinard said.
Kinard was initially told the results would take three to five days, but she, like others, are finding out it’s taking a lot longer.
Adding to the frustration, Kinard’s emails to the lab conducting the test went unanswered.
- Financial Friday: Unlock Your Home’s Potential with a HELOC from Leaders Credit Union
- Bright Spot 4-25
- Trump ordered to give some Venezuelans 21 days notice before deportations
- Overton Park Shell reveals free concert series lineup
- Operation Babylift crash survivor still searching for answers 50 years later