Some Florida residents waiting more than a week for coronavirus test results

ORLANDO, Fla. - It’s not easy to get a COVID-19 test as you have to meet certain criteria, and in some cases, there is a long wait for results

FOX 35 News interviewed Kelly Schumer last week. The Longwood mom with Lupus said she had all the symptoms of Coronavirus but was struggling to get tested.

“By the end of the day I had a fever of 101.5 and had body aches everywhere and was a little short of breath,” she explained.

A couple days after we talked with her, she finally did get the test at the ER. That was last Thursday.

She was told it would take one to two weeks for the results. She’s still waiting and has since developed pneumonia.

A Tampa area couple is also waiting for answers after being tested more than a week ago at a drive-thru.

“Keep busy around the house and try not to think about it which is very difficult not to think about,” Andre Feith said.

We asked local health officials what could be the hold up.

“It actually depends on which lab is used for the results. People need to understand that private providers have the ability, meaning your primary doctor has the ability to prescribe you a test, order a test, as long as they collect a sample,” said Dr. Raul Pino of the Orange County Health Dept.

Pino says the state lab is running about 72 hours right now.

“I think we should expect an increase on the wait time with the increase in volume is happening,” he went on.  

Schumer says she’s concerned about the lag time impacting the accuracy of the COVID19 positive test numbers.