Sedgwick County has plenty of COVID-19 tests. So why the lag time to get tested?
Traffic at Wichita’s COVID-19 drive-through testing site was steady Thursday when I pulled into the lot for my scheduled test.
As I related earlier this week, I had no symptoms or known exposure to the coronavirus, but decided to get tested to help local officials get a more accurate picture of the virus in our community.
The nasal swab was quick and relatively painless — during the test and for a couple hours afterward, I felt like I had been swimming and inhaled chlorinated water — and now I’m just awaiting the results.
Turns out, a lot of Wichita-area residents had the same idea, and the Sedgwick County Health Department wasn’t prepared for the onslaught.
Assistant County Manager Tania Cole said Thursday that “the number of asymptomatic people requesting tests really surged” over the past week, resulting in call-back wait times that far exceed the county’s goals.
“The high interest in residents seeking testing was not anticipated, and the (Health Department) has added more staff to accommodate the call volume,” officials posted on the Sedgwick County Government Facebook page Thursday evening.
“Sedgwick County is asking for patience on wait time if you are asymptomatic and would like to receive a COVID-19 test.”
My frustration navigating the system mirrored what many have experienced. I called the United Way of the Plains’ 211 hotline and was transferred to the Health Department’s automated message. It said calls left after 1 p.m. would be returned the next day.
I left a message and waited.
After a week, I called again. I got another voicemail and left another message. The next day, I tweeted about the lag time, tagging both Sedgwick County and Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple, who had been encouraging residents to get tested.
Within hours, I received a call from the Health Department and an appointment for a test the next morning.
Cole, the assistant county manager, said people experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 — fever, coughing, shortness of breath, loss of smell or taste — or those who have been exposed to the virus get priority scheduling, which of course makes sense.
But health officials clearly weren’t prepared for the rush of other residents wanting tests, even as Whipple and County Commissioner Lacey Cruse posted Facebook Live videos of their nasal swabs and urged people to get tested.
And even as Deputy County Manager Tim Kaufman said health officials were having a hard time recruiting residents for a random-sample COVID-19 study.
It’s a mixed message at a time when the county is seeing a record-breaking increase in new COVID-19 cases. Active cases have nearly tripled since the state and local economies reopened without mandatory restrictions in late May.
For weeks during the mandatory shutdown in March and April, Kansas ranked at or near the bottom in the number of per-capita tests for the coronavirus.
That got better. But testing is even more crucial now — to identify trends, to prevent asymptomatic people from infecting others, and to give policymakers a more accurate picture of how widespread the virus is in our community.
Sedgwick County received nearly $100 million in federal aid to help finance the local battle against COVID-19. Clearly, more of those funds should be used to shore up testing supplies and the staff required to get residents scheduled.
The county isn’t the only one offering tests. Clinics such as Grace Med, Guadelupe Clinic and HealthCore Clinic, as well as private health care providers, are pitching in to fortify testing.
For now, residents wanting a COVID-19 test need to be patient and wait for county officials to catch up to the demand. For everyone’s health and safety, let’s hope that happens quickly.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 4:02 PM.
