Lab technician gives glimpse into COVID-19 test-kit processing lab
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Next to the doctors and other healthcare workers saving lives daily are the BayCare medical technologists. BayCare labs are now processing all of their drive-through COVID-19 tests and they pulled back the curtain, giving FOX 13 a rare look inside their laboratories.
Working in the trenches around the clock, lab techs for processing hundreds of test a day, explained BayCare Lab Director Maura Pieretti.
“Right now we are doing approximately 300 to 350 tests per day but the volume will vary as more reagents become available,” explained Pieretti.
After a sample is collected, it is taken to BayCare labs where a tech, who is not identified, begins the testing process.
“We’re going to make sure that the label that we use matches our specimen and we’re going to label the actual cartridge,” the tech said.
RELATED: Hundreds tested for COVID-19 at BayCare drive-thru testing sites
It’s not just BayCare labs, in-hospital laboratories are also processing COVID-19 tests. The FDA just approved rapid testing kits.
Techs can now have results within minutes instead of days. “This will take approximately 45 to 52 minutes,” the tech explained.
“If it’s a negative sample and if it’s a positive sample we should have results way less than that,” thge tech continued.
Once the results are in, they are shared with the patient.
While physicians and other medical staff are showered with love and appreciation all over the country, lab techs are the heroes we don’t get to see every day, but their work is just as critical.
Map of known COVID-19 cases:
MOBILE APP USERS: Click here for map