Montco To Expand Testing Capacity, With Results Back In 24 Hours

NORRISTOWN, PA — Montgomery County will increase its testing capacity at all of its sites around the county beginning next week, officials announced on Wednesday.

The expanded operations are possible due to a new contract recently signed with Mako Medical Laboratories, which is contractually obligated to return tests within 36 hours.

The county began sending tests to Mako's lab in North Carolina beginning on Monday, Aug. 17, and, thus far, all tests have been returned ahead of schedule, within 24 hours, Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh said.

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Beginning next week, each of the county's six community testing sites will increase its daily test load to 50 tests per day, for a total of 300 daily tests across the county.

Arkoosh says the county plans to increase its testing capacity again by mid-September.

The success of the Mako partnership is especially welcome news following several weeks of significantly delayed results, with some Montgomery County residents waiting up to three weeks to get results back. This not only made the work of contact tracers all but impossible, it also made the test less relevant, as an individual who tested negative could have easily contracted the virus in the time it took to get results back.

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All sites still require an appointment on the day of testing, with no book-ahead testing. Testing at the six community sites is open for Montgomery County residents or those who work in the county only. This is because many residents must be tested within a certain time frame in order to travel, return to school or work, or perform other vital functions.