Coronavirus Test Results Are Faster but Still Too Slow for Contact Tracing, National Survey Says

The average test times for coronavirus results have fallen from four days in April to 2.7 days in September, but results are still too slow for effective contact tracing, according to a new nationwide survey led by researchers from Rutgers University–New Brunswick and Northeastern, Harvard and Northwestern Universities. The survey was published by The COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across States. “Despite decreased average wait times, a substantial proportion of Americans still endure long waits,” said co-author Katherine Ognyanova, an assistant professor of communication at Rutgers’ School of Communication and Information.  The survey finds considerable disparities in test times. Black respondents wait almost an entire day more than white respondents for their test results (4.4 days versus 3.5 days on average). The average Hispanic respondent waits 4.1 days. White and Asian American respondents wait an average of 3.5 and 3.6 days, respectively, for their results. To read the full story.