WAUKEE, Iowa — Wednesday, a Waukee teenager, who was among the first in the state to get tested at a drive-thru TestIowa site, was still waiting on her results a week and a half after being tested.
Logan Cornelius, a 17-year-old junior at Waukee High, got tested for the coronavirus in Des Moines on April 25.
That is the day the program launched in the state.
"They said we were going to have my results in 72 hours, but we still haven't gotten them back," Logan said.
Wednesday marked 11 days since Logan's test was first administered.
Logan's mom Jamie said since then, she's reached out to the state several times to find out the results.
April 28, 74 hours after Logan got tested, Jamie called the State Hygienic Lab, who is responsible for processing TestIowa swabs.
The lab told Jamie they were backlogged.
"They're like, 'oh, we're backlogged. Expect results tomorrow or so,'" Jamie said. "And then I waited and waited."
By Monday (May 4), Jamie still hadn't gotten Logan's results, so she decided to call 211.
"[211] said, 'Oh, no, we can't help you with this. That would not be us that you'd want to talk to you. You probably want to call the State Hygienic Lab,'" Jamie said. "So I called the lab and this time they said they had nothing to do with TestIowa results, and that would be through 211. I've kind of just been thrown back and forth."
TestIowa is a $26 million public-private partnership aimed at expanding testing capacity in the state.
"It just seems frustrating that the governor spent all this money on this program," Jamie said.
Right now, the State Hygienic Lab is working to validate TestIowa's equipment, meaning all samples taken from TestIowa locations are processed twice.
Monday, Gov. Kim Reynolds said there was a backup of TestIowa samples at the State Hygienic Lab.
"We got about 900 to 1,000 through yesterday (Sunday) from TestIowa and we should complete the backlog today (Monday)," Reynolds said during a coronavirus briefing Monday. "Then we'll be back on track."
Wednesday, Stephen Pradarelli, strategic communications director for the Office of the Vice President of Research at the University of Iowa, said the lab caught up on the TestIowa backlog Tuesday. Pradarelli said that information is according to Dr. Mike Pentella, director of the State Hygienic Lab.
Reynolds' spokesman Pat Garrett said it's up to private companies contracted to run TestIowa to push the results out to people who got tested.
Reynolds advised the public to stay in isolation until they get their results.
"Until you know your test results, it's important that you stay home," Reynolds said during a coronavirus briefing Monday. "By isolating yourself at home, you'll reduce the risk of potentially exposing others to the virus. And if your condition has worsened since you were tested, please call your doctor to seek medical attention or call 911 if you're having trouble breathing when you're at rest."
That means until they hear back, the Cornelius family, which is a family of seven, will continue to live as though they've been exposed to the virus.