DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — There is a mad dash by metro Atlantans to get tested for COVID-19 before many people head to family gatherings for Thanksgiving, despite warnings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Experts told Channel 2′s Audrey Washington they are worried that a negative COVID-19 test will provide a false sense of security. They say it is still dangerous to attend large Thanksgiving celebrations.
“(We’re) finding that a portion of our patients have symptoms,” said Ron Sanders, president of Viral Solutions.
“I do caution against gatherings. I think most of our patients are thinking to get a negative test and they are free and clear to go around Grandma.”
According to the CDC, more than 1 million COVID-19 cases were reported in the United States over the last seven days.
Health experts say the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to do it at home with the people you live with. The CDC went on to say that gatherings with people who you do not live with you can increase the chances of contracting the coronavirus.
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“The spread is too high. The viral load is too high,” Sanders said.
On Monday, Washington found cars snaked around the corner from a testing site on Clairmont Road in Decatur, which Sanders runs.
“Our numbers were averaging at 350. In a matter of a few days it spiked up to 800 a day,” Sanders said.
During his interview with Washington, Sanders received swab tests from another metro Atlanta location and detailed the kind of tests being administered at other locations.
“With us only doing a gold standard test, which is a molecular PCR test, the false-negative test rate is high, which means if you show a negative, you can still be positive,” Sanders said.
Testing at that Decatur site is free of charge and takes about 24 to 48 hours to get the results.
Cox Media Group
