COVID-19 testing demand significantly higher in Seattle over the last several weeks

Significant increase in demand for Covid-19 tests

State health officials said in the past few weeks that the demand for tests has increased significantly.

SEATTLE – Public health officials in Seattle said the demand for COVID-19 tests has been significantly higher in recent weeks, reaching a level similar to last winter.

That demand is evident on Aurora Avenue at the UW Medicine test site, where drivers sometimes queue for an hour to get tested for COVID-19.

“He said it was horrific. Horrible and very congested and it took a while. It took about an hour to get through,” said MacKenzie Kermoade, whose brother was tested the day before. “We’re testing because we’re going to cross the Canadian border on Saturday. I’m moving upstairs for my job.”

There are many factors that contribute to this, but the Deputy Chairman of the Clinical Operations of the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology sees the Delta variant as the main reason.

Patrick Mathias said the UW test sites had taken more than 47,000 samples in the past seven days.

“Over the course of a few months, we’ve increased the total number of tests we do every day by three or four fold,” said Mathias. “A lot of it is really driven by the Delta variant and the increased portability that we see with the variant compared to the other predecessor variants.”

The demand for tests can be seen across the country.

“In August DOH sent out about as many test kits to our Washington partners as in the six months before put together, and the inquiries remain very high,” said spokesman Frank Ameduri.

“It’s very worrying. It just seems like we can all pull ourselves together, mask, vaccinate and just go about the business of mutual aid, it would be better for everyone,” said Darrell Waddell, Kermoade’s stepfather.

The Aurora test site’s capacity is 2,000 tests per day, and Mathias said it was close.

Companies at the Aurora Avenue test site have signs stating that parking is not permitted for COVID-19 testing.

“It is very difficult to get to this location because we are on a busy road. We are therefore currently discussing adding more locations in the area,” said Mathias.

“There really has to be a way for all of these vehicles to park and consolidate this because it’s blocking traffic and clogging the highway so that’s going to be a problem,” said Kermoade.

Health officials said if you show symptoms or have any close contact that tests positive, make sure you get tested. There are several test sites in the region that have shorter waiting times. You can find these locations here.

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