CHARLOTTE, N.C. — It seems like almost every hour, new data on the coronavirus is released. The numbers are rapidly changing. The North Carolina State Epidemiologist said those numbers can't give a full picture of just how far-reaching this virus is because testing is so limited, and thousands of people still haven't gotten their results.
"The bad news we have to acknowledge is that we're just at the beginning,” Dr. Zack Moore, State Epidemiologist, said on a conference call Monday.
He says North Carolina is in the acceleration phase of the pandemic.
It’s an eye-opening warning: this is far from over. The number of cases of coronavirus will climb and so will the demand for testing.
“The prediction is for North Carolina or here in the Charlotte area that we may peak around April 20th or 22nd, that’s still three and a half weeks from now," said Dr. Ryan Shelton with Tryon Medical Partners. "So we're still in this kind of calm before the storm."
Shelton says at Tryon Medical Partners’ two remote testing locations, more than 450 people have been tested since March 17, and 35 have tested positive for COVID-19.
He says results aren't coming back as quickly as they'd like, but the results don't change what everyone should be doing anyway — staying home and social distancing.
North Carolina health officials announced Monday there are more than 8,000 pending tests in private labs. As of Saturday, the back log in South Carolina was around 1,500.
“We are still doing a very high volume of testing," Dr. Mandy Cohen with NCDHHS said. "Testing is going to continue to be an important component in our work of fighting COVID-19. I think it’s been widely reported testing supplies have been and continue to be an issue as we work through this virus."
Still, thousands of people are left wondering if they have coronavirus.
“The reality is, yes its helpful to know, but it doesn't really change the recommendations or our action plan," Dr. Shelton said. "People still must stay at home, self-quarantined and essentially assuming they have it. I know its unnerving, but the tests are only as available as they are, it is what it is right now."
State health officials say they are doing everything they can to work with the federal government to get what they need to ramp up testing.
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