Utah sees record-breaking COVID-19 testing as cases surge
Jan 3, 2022, 6:20 PM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 5:34 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — A new year, but still no relief. The Utah Department of Health reported record-breaking numbers when it comes to the amount of people getting a COVID-19 test across the state.
Long lines of cars could be seen at a variety of sites across the valley Monday.
Back from the Holidays! Record breaking numbers of people getting tested today! @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/T03Z5Z2uJw
— Dan Rascon (@TVDanRascon) January 3, 2022
Along Main Street in Bountiful, cars stretched for blocks. Some reported an hour and a half to a two hour wait.
At the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Chopper 5 got a birds eye view of a huge line of cars, wrapping around parts of the building.
And at health department headquarters in Salt Lake, cars stretched into the streets.
“I am shocked,” Antonio Williams said. “I’m thinking we are going to have [this virus] for a long while, at least another year.”
“Pretty crazy. I didn’t think there would be this many,” Anel Harvat said about the wait. “I thought this year would be better, but I guess not.”
“It’s definitely unprecedented,” Brittany Brown, UDOH’s testing deputy director, said. “We’re seeing the longest lines we’ve ever seen, and so traffic is going out into the streets and blocking traffic on the streets.”
Brown said they’re doing the best they can to keep up, but with a shortage of staff and a doubling in the number of people getting tested, it’s very challenging.
“There’s a lot of sick people out there right now. This variant is spreading very quickly. Our percent positivity [rate] has increased dramatically over the past few days,” she said. “We’re just trying to ramp up the capacity of the existing testing sites, rather than adding additional sites. We’re adding staff, we’re adding room in the parking lots, we’re adding lanes that are open for testing and increasing hours, increasing days that the sites are open.”
The only answer right now for those getting tested — patience, and lots of it.
“Thank goodness for our health care workers and God bless them,” Williams said.