By Danny Shapiro | KTAR
Gov. Doug Ducey called out Sonora Quest Laboratories on Thursday, saying the lab giant needs to “step up their game” to eliminate a hefty backlog in coronavirus testing results.
Sonora Quest, which performs about 80% of Arizona’s diagnostic testing for COVID-19, had a backlog of 29,000 tests as of Thursday morning, according to its dashboard.
“There has been a backlog. I find it unacceptable,” Ducey said during a press conference. “We are having very candid discussions with our private labs on how to clear these backlogs and to make certain that people now only get a test in a convenient way in places around the state, but that they get their results on a timely basis.”
The backlog has hurt the state health department’s ability to quickly turn around test results and to perform contract tracing measures.
It has also complicated the state’s long-term testing goal for the lab giant.
