Officials nationwide and here in Onondaga County have said for weeks that testing and quick results remains one of the keys to controlling the spread of the coronavirus. The turn time on tests sent to outside labs has typically ranged from a minimum of 24 hours to 5 days or more. County Executive Ryan McMahon says Upstate University Hospital has increased its capacity to do onsite testing, with results available in hours.
"This is very good for us. This helps us getting the positive case into isolation, start your investigation, you quarantine faster, so you take that risk away."
He says Crouse Hospital expects to have the same testing ability by the end of the week. Others such as primary care doctors, the triage site at Syracuse Community Health Center, and St. Joseph’s Hospital are still sending tests to a lab. As of Sunday, the county has 494 cases, up 13 from Saturday. Forty-seven are hospitalized, and half are in critical condition. Fortey-eight were discharged from the hospital.
