While there are some options available and more being planned, Delawareans are struggling to get tested for COVID-19 as cases surge once again following the holiday season.
The best advice is to plan ahead and broaden your search as appointments likely won’t be available at your desired location on short notice. The state also offers at-home options, but those require several days for approval before they can be shipped.
For most residents in northern Delaware, test appointments can’t be made sooner than a week in advance. There are more appointment windows available in central and lower Delaware, but the opportunities remain slim relative to the growing demand.
Tests are available to purchase in some stores (most two packs cost around $20), but supply there is limited too. Prices will likely soon increase after a deal in which the Biden administration offset costs to retailers expired last month.
The state is processing more test results than ever before – despite the Christmas holiday. Last week it recorded more than double the number of tests conducted in the last week of November – and a higher percentage of tests are returning positive than ever before, indicating widespread community transmission.
Currently, about 1 in 4 COVID-19 tests in Delaware are positive.
The state has averaged 2,619 positive cases each day over the past week, which is more than triple the average two weeks ago. That number could be even higher: the state has reported processing delays because of the high volume of results and the mild symptoms of omicron might make some less likely to pursue a test.
As a result, some, including Dr. Anthony Fauci and Gov. John Carney have leaned more on hospitalizations as their gauge for the veracity of COVID’s spread.
“Hospitalizations are where the rubber meets the road,” said Andrew Noymer, a public health professor at the University of California, Irvine.
Hospitalizations are at record-setting levels too, having increased about 60% in the past two weeks to 629.
AJ Schall, the director of Delaware Emergency Management Agency whom Carney has called the state’s testing czar, said Delaware’s testing capacity is “somewhere north of 60,000 weekly,” without including the capabilities of partners such as Walgreens, Labcorp and Quest.
Through its partnership with Curative, the state last week conducted 53,923 tests and will likely fall short of 60,000 again this week due, in part, to weather and the New Year’s holiday.
The state has requested federal support to increase its testing capacity. It plans to introduce testing sites in each county in mid-January that together could conduct 10,000-15,000 tests per week. Schall said the state is still deciding on the locations of the sites. They would use a federal lab partner so as to not impact capacity at Delaware’s existing locations, he said.
In response to the testing shortage, state officials have also asked residents to stop seeking tests in some scenarios to reserve them for people who are at higher risk for a severe case of COVID-19.
Division of Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay on Tuesday said Delawareans shouldn’t be tested if they’ve been positive in the last three months or if they’ve been vaccinated and boosted and do not have symptoms. After testing positive, Rattay said residents should avoid taking additional tests to confirm their status.
“That’s a waste of a test that could be used for other people,” she said.
In public addresses, state officials have presented the situation as an unavoidable outcome due to unanticipated demand. At the federal level, officials have been making vows to improve the country’s testing infrastructure for about a year.
“Nobody anticipated the testing demand above any other time we’ve seen during the pandemic, also with a large number of Delawareans vaccinated too,” Schall said.
On top of the high demand and supply issues, they say testing providers have been dealing with staffing shortages with many of their employees testing positive for COVID.
“When everyone in the state wants something at the same time, even the best plans and resource management is just not going to be able to keep pace,” Division of Health and Social Services Secretary Molly Magarik said last week.
Where can I get a free COVID test?
There are locations throughout Delaware offering free COVID-19 testing services, including pharmacies, state service centers, urgent care facilities and pop-up sites.
The state’s website provides a tool that allows residents to scan a map of testing sites by day and test type. The website provides links to sign-up pages for most locations. Most testing sites require an appointment, especially as demand has increased. Walk-ins are accepted at some sites but may be turned away.
Below are direct links to make appointments for a variety of testing sites. Most sites are showing extremely limited availability within a week.
- A separate state website, deregister.pl.labware.cloud, manages appointments for some Walgreens locations and some state service centers. More Walgreens locations can be found at walgreens.com/findcare/covid19/testing. Results are expected in 24-48 hours.
- Rite Aid testing sites can be found at riteaid.com/pharmacy/services/covid-19-testing. Results are expected in 2-5 days.
- Curative offers testing services at a number of state service centers and community sites such as churches, fire halls and the Christiana Mall. A variety of tests are offered, including two-hour rapid tests. Residents can search by their location at curative.com.
- Appointments at CareForceMD urgent care facilities can be made at careforcemd.com/locations?type=1. Results are expected in 2-3 days.
- MedExpress locations offer drive-thru and walk-up tests with results expected in 2-5 days. It does not have an online sign-up. More information can be found at medexpress.com.
- Doctors Pathology Services offers drive thru testing in Wilmington, Dover, Lewes and Georgetown. The first available appointment is in Georgetown on Jan. 11. Appointments can be made at dpspa.com/covid19. Results are expected in 1-3 days.
- Atlantic Apothecary in Camden has no availability through Jan. 11. Future appointments can be made at doineedacovid19test.com/Camden_DE_975.html. Results are expected in 3-5 days.
- Camden Pharmacy offers PCR tests with results due in 3-4 days for free and 15-minute rapid tests for $60. Appointments for both can be scheduled at camdenrxde.com/CovidTesting. Appointments are available as soon as Thursday.
- Walk-ins are welcome at Ivira Pharmacy locations in Wilmington and Milford for PCR and rapid tests. The pharmacy’s website, ivirahealth.com/#COVID, does not allow residents to make appointments, but asks they fill out a registration form prior to arriving as a walk-in.
How can I get an at-home test?
Delaware residents can request an at-home testing kit at coronavirus.delaware.gov/testing/home-test-kit/. The state encourages higher-risk individuals to use this testing method.
The kit requires users to administer their own oral swab test with a Vault health care provider assisting via video call.
After registering online, residents will receive an email in up to 3 business days if they are approved for a test. A testing kit will then be sent via overnight delivery. Results are expected 2-3 days after residents ship back the completed test.
Residents can also request an at-home testing kit from Labcorp at ondemand.labcorp.com/state-de. The website notes Labcorp is fulfilling a limited number of orders.
The Biden administration has said it is launching a website this month where Americans can request rapid tests be shipped to their homes for free. They have not shared information on how it will work.
“We’re also eager to hear more details on how this is going to proceed,” said Rick Hong, medical director for the Division of Public Health. “We have not received a definitive plan on how this is going to roll out or when it’s going to roll out. We’re working closely with the federal level to determine how this is going to happen.”
What should I do if I can’t get tested right now?
State officials say residents regardless of vaccination status should get tested on the fifth day following their exposure to COVID-19. In practice, however, a test on that precise interval may be difficult to come by.
“It is going to be challenging,” Magarik said last week. “I don’t want to sugar coat it. Demand is absolutely outstripping supply.”
If you can’t tested and have a cold or other COVID-19 symptoms, you should treat yourself as a positive COVID-19 case, Rattay, the DPH director, said.
According to the state’s most recent guidance (detailed below), that would involve isolating for at least five days.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says if you’re unable to get a test in the five days after being a close contact of someone with COVID-19 and you have not had symptoms, you can leave your home. If you continue to have symptoms that are not improving, you should continue to isolate, according to the guidance.
What should I do if I test positive?
At the end of December, Delaware implemented the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidance for isolation and quarantine, which included a reduced isolation period for some positive cases.
If you test positive for COVID-19 you should isolate for five days regardless of vaccination status, according to the guidance. If you don’t have symptoms or symptoms are improving, you can end isolation after five days. You should continue to wear a mask for another five days around others at home, at school and in other public settings.
If you have a fever after five days, you should continue to isolate until you make 24 hours with no fever without using fever-reducing medications.
The Division of Public Health is asking residents who test positive to notify people they came in contact with in the days prior to their positive test themselves. The agency has essentially shut down its contact tracing operation.
“We don’t know and at this point are struggling with the volume of cases with processing, so we do not have the ability to contact trace and notify and do that extensive interview for every single positive case,” Magarik said.
It is not necessary to test out of isolation, but if you do take a test toward the end of the five-day isolation period and test positive you should isolate until day 10, according to the guidance. These are the same protocols schools should follow, officials said.
The Division of Public Health is also no longer providing clearance letters to return to work or school. The agency said it has prioritized using its team of epidemiologists to process and post test results to have “the most accurate and fullest picture of what positive cases exist in the state as quickly as possible.”
Reporter Meredith Newman and The Associated Press contributed.
Contact Brandon Holveck at bholveck@delawareonline.com. Follow him on Twitter @holveck_brandon.
