TOLEDO, Ohio — The University of Toledo Medical Center now has the means to test for coronavirus in their labs and give results to you and your healthcare provider in less than 48 hours.
Although, this testing availability does not mean people can come to the lab to get tested.
By opening the pathology lab for testing, UTMC is able to provide a quicker response on a positive or negative diagnosis.
This in turn, could provide our community with more accurate and up-to-date data, according to UTMC officials, but they say tests are still limited.
"We can't just go and test everyone. As much as we'd like to we don't have the supplies to, we have to meet the criteria for which individuals are presenting and the most acute of those," said Monecca Smith, Associate Vice President of Patient Care at UTMC.
According Smith, priority tests go to those who are in hospitals with respiratory illness and exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms.
Doctors will also test first responders and medical personnel exposed to the virus and showing signs.
"Our goal is to follow that algorithm to make sure that we're testing appropriately to make sure that we are testing appropriately to make sure we have the tools that we need when we truly need to do the testing," said Smith.
She said the lab can run up to 180 test swabs per day and has already provided results to the Toledo Lucas County Health Department.
"Those tests are coming from the multiple different hospitals within the community. We're not providing the testing material for which to do the test. We're only providing the means for which to run the test," said Smith.
Patients in northwest Ohio are not able to request a test, it will have to come from a healthcare provider.
UTMC is following guidelines set out by the health department and area hospitals when it comes to who gets tested.