Larimer County Department of Health and Environment COVID-19 test specimens are now being sent to a laboratory with the capacity to return results within 48 hours of receiving them to improve the COVID-19 test result turnaround time for residents within Larimer County.
The 48 hour turnaround time comes in coordination between the Larimer County Department of Health and Environment (LCDHE) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. Additionally, the LCDHE has the capacity to test nearly 1,000 people for COVID-19 at free community testing locations in Fort Collins and Loveland.
“In Larimer County, we have built the capacity to collect specimens and conduct contact tracing at a large scale,” said Tom Gonzales, Public Health Director for Larimer County. “Contact tracing is one of the best tools for fighting COVID-19, but for it to be effective, it is imperative that we receive test results within 48 hours,” Tom said.
Currently, LCDHE is working with a Colorado State University laboratory to create and develop a long-term solution for receiving local test results in a timely manner. Furthermore, all test specimens collected from LCDHE’s free community testing sites will be sent to private clinical laboratory Unipath beginning this week.
Unipath has agreed to a 48-hour turnaround time which will remain in place until the local laboratory is ready. Testing for COVID-19 in Larimer County is also avalaible through UCHealth, Banner Health, Salud Family Health Centers in Estes Park and Fort Collins and Kaiser Permanente.
For more information regarding COVID-19, visit: www.larimer.org/coronavirus or www.CDC.gov/coronavirus