DeSantis To Cut Back Work With Some Labs, Says ‘Many’ Are Too Slow To Provide COVID-19 Results

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the bill signing ceremony on Education Achievements at William J. Kirlew Junior Academy in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Thursday, May 9, 2019. (David Santiago/Miami Herald/TNS)
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks during the bill signing ceremony on Education Achievements at William J. Kirlew Junior Academy in Miami Gardens, Fla., on Thursday, May 9, 2019. (David Santiago/Miami Herald/TNS via Getty Images)
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) said on Wednesday that state officials will stop sending COVID-19 tests to labs that are slow to turn around results.

“Those who can produce are going to get more of the business, and I think that’s the best way to go about it,” DeSantis said, according to the Miami Herald

The governor announced that instead the Department of Emergency Management will start sending work to labs with a track record of faster turnaround time – a move raises questions about what impact having fewer testing labs would have for COVID-19 testing in the state overall.  

DeSantis said he was frustrated with many of the labs the state has contracted with to perform tests. He asked labs serving drive-through testing sites to produce results within 48 hours, a target that he said “many” of the labs aren’t meeting.

“You have somebody going through one of the [testing] sites, and then they get a result back 10 days later,” DeSantis said. “That is not really going to be very helpful.”

On Wednesday, the Florida Department of Health reported a total of roughly 302,000 positive cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic with 4,626 deaths. Tuesday also broke a previous record for the state, becoming the deadliest date  yet for the pandemic with 132 fatalities, according to state health department data.

DeSantis did not specify which labs have been lagging on results nor did he say which labs would be affected by the change.

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Notable Replies

  1. Yep, cut capacity when you need capacity.

  2. That’s the problem
    They’ve fixed it so you have no way of knowing if they are telling the truth
    Going on their record I would say the default is “They’re Lying”
    Until someone proves different

  3. Can we add lack of testing supplies leads to longer wait times?
    Can we add when the same guy kept things open when they should have shut down, and re-opened before he had the plans in place to track and trace the spread then, and is now complaining about the volume that these labs after to deal with.
    DeSantis is a “I take no responsibility for piss poor prior planning” governor that is near and dear in Trump’s heart.

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