The demand for COVID-19 testing continues.
People lined up for hours in New Britain Monday to get a PCR test and, a West Hartford walk-in care was busy, too.
We spoke to people needing a test to get back to work and school.
“I have to go back to work. It’s a living, right? I have to pay my bills, you know,” Maria Figueroa of Hartford, said while on a hunt for a test.
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“I’m a student at Hartford International University and after break, holiday, my university asks all students to do COVID test,” said Yohanes Barihala, a student from Indonesia.
Others we spoke to were feeling under the weather or hoping to visit sick loved ones.
“I was exposed to a confirmed COVID case and my husband is recuperating from COVID, currently in rehab, and I can’t go in to see him until I get a negative test,” said Caorl Duska of New Britain.
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“Every positive test, someone tells then another 10, 20, 30 people that they are positive, and all those individuals then want to be tested, so it has been like a domino effect, honestly,” said Dr. Eric Walsh, the medical director for Hartford Health Care GoHealth Urgent Cares throughout Connecticut.
While we’re in this crunch for COVID testing, Walsh says if you don’t need to hand over a test result to a job or school or to visit a loved one in a hospital, you can follow the CDC quarantine guidelines and consult with your doctor instead of waiting in long lines.
And if you do want to test at an urgent care, he advises making an appointment online, although he knows it may not be on the day or time you’d like.
The Bishops Corner location stopped accepting COVID test walk-ins Monday.
“But the system is strained. Let's just be frank. I mean, there's a finite amount of what we can do. So, we're doing the best we can. knowing that, you know, it pushes things out, you know, another day or another day,” said Walsh.
Hartford HealthCare announced Monday they will soon be adding more testing trailers around the state to help with the testing demand. This won’t just be for their patients, but for all people.
They say when logistics are figured out, they’ll post them on their website. They expect them to open Jan. 10.
