COVID-19 testing stalled in Philadelphia by unrest
NORTH PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Testing for coronavirus has again hit a glitch.
This is day two, the city shut down many COVID-19 testing sites due to safety concerns related to the protests.
But some private testing sites, including CVS, are also being affected.
The drugstore giant says 1 site in the city remains on "pause."
Doctors say this takes us several steps backwards when it comes to controlling the pandemic.
"The only way to know the exact extent of the disease is to know how many people actually have the disease. And to not have access to testing again, it creates an issue for which direction we need to go in, and how we can appropriately open. These all have a huge impact on mitigating coronavirus," says Dr. Delana Wardlaw, a family physician with Temple Health.
Without testing data, health officials may have a hard time determining whether the city should move from red to yellow.
Most groups doing testing hope to get more sites up and running very soon.
Dr. Wardlaw has some basic advice to anyone joining a protest: wear a mask, try to keep social distance..
If you are concerned you might have symptoms or may have been exposed, call your health care provider, or start to quarantine, to be safe.
