Grand Rapids Reporter

Thanksgiving traditionally represents a time of joy and coming together, but this year the holiday is destined to be a different kind of event.

With the coronavirus pandemic still raging, it is riskier than ever to gather in large groups. This presents a unique challenge for families in Michigan and the rest of the country. 

One way that people are trying to make the gatherings safer is to test themselves before they go to their Thanksgiving events, says Bridge Michigan. This could lower, but not eliminate, the risk of unknowingly spreading the virus to others. However, it seems that many in Michigan had the same thought, and waiting times for test results have become longer than ever before.

Presently, the waiting time for a COVID-19 test result is three to five days, and the number of days is expected to increase because the demand for testing is expected to continue rising until Thanksgiving.

Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the state’s chief medical executive and deputy director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said, “We're incredibly concerned about what was happening with our testing capacity across the state,” according to Bridge Michigan.

Currently, the state is processing more than 53,000 tests a day, when five weeks ago that figure was only 35,000. This rising volume is especially concerning, given that the most effective way to control the spread of the virus has been testing and contract tracing. This sets up the potential to backlog the system for weeks at a time, making it very difficult for states to curb the spread of the virus. 

Already these effects are adding up. Less than 30% of those who received positive test results were already quarantining at the time of their diagnosis. As Khaldun told Bridge Michigan, “This means that over two-thirds of the positive cases are out and potentially spreading the virus to others."

These challenges are only expected to get worse, unless the testing capability of the state is drastically increased in the coming days.