Delays in COVID-19 test results frustrate Miami Beach residents, leaders
It’s been nearly two weeks since he was tested, and the mayor of Miami Beach doesn’t know if he has COVID-19.
Mayor Dan Gelber, who doesn’t feel sick, has yet to receive the results of his May 7 coronavirus test, administered at the new state-run testing center near the Miami Beach Convention Center.
That’s because his test and 25 others from the city testing site were “damaged” while being taken to a laboratory for processing, he said. He found out on Wednesday, after waiting 13 days for word back about his nasal-swab test.
The Florida Department of Health said on Wednesday that of the 90,000 tests administered at drive-thru and walk-up testing sites so far in May, 1,702 tests were damaged in transit.
Gelber was one of the first people to be tested at the South Beach site, along with City Manager Jimmy Morales and Commissioner Michael Góngora.
Since its opening, more than 4,300 tests have been administered. For some, getting test results took longer than was promised — and those tests weren’t damaged.
Morales waited nine days for his results. For Góngora, it was eight days.
Daniel Ciraldo, the executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League, said he had yet to receive his results nine days after being tested at the center. Some on social media reported delays as well, posting photos of a flier from the site that states results should be expected in two to five days.
In emails to the City Commission on Monday and Tuesday, Morales said Department of Health call centers “had a huge backlog of testing results” due to a “significant increase in testing.”
“We have received many complaints that people who were tested are not receiving their results on a timely basis,” Morales wrote. “I myself just received my results on Saturday, nine days after I was tested, and then only because I reached out to the National Guard to express the frustration of many.”
The Department of Emergency Management told the city that it would increase staffing at its call centers. A department spokesman told the Miami Herald the process had been streamlined and the center now can contact up to 10,000 people a day.
Gelber, who intends to be retested, said the issue was not limited to Miami Beach.
“Test results have not been relayed in the time frame they could have,” he said Tuesday. “In a pandemic, the accuracy and timing of the information is crucial.”
Since rolling out new drive-thru testing sites across Florida in May, the Department of Emergency Management estimates that the state has performed more than 5,000 additional tests per day. A total of 196,000 tests have been administered through state-run walk-up and drive-thru sites.
Test results are often available within 72 after they’re received by a commercial lab, a department spokesman said, with priority given to anyone who tested positive.
Commissioner Góngora said he was surprised to receive his results more than a week after being tested.
Góngora, who said he tested negative for COVID-19, called the delay “unacceptable.”
“Our residents deserve expeditious results,” he said.
Miami Herald staff writer Daniel Chang contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 21, 2020 at 11:50 AM.
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