WOODBRIDGE, Va. — Prince William County has had to close several of its coronavirus testing sites early this week.
County officials say demand for testing has gone up drastically since Thursday.
According to Brian Misner, the emergency management coordinator for Prince William County, the private testing lab the county contracts with only can analyze 200 Prince William tests daily.
Misner told the Prince William County Board of Supervisors Tuesday evening some county testing sites have had to close as a result of testing lab capacity constraints not due to a lack of testing kits.
“We are seeing a higher demand at the moment,” Misner said. “We have not changed the number of tests that are available, but rather we are seeing increased demand and we are reaching capacity earlier in the day.”
Misner said if Prince William County residents want to get tested for the coronavirus, they should try to get to the county’s testing centers early.
Officials say there could be a few reasons as to why the demand for testing has skyrocketed in Prince William County.
Dr. Alison Ansher, director of the Prince William Health District, told the board it is possible many people are getting tested due to planned holiday travel.
“Is it because people are planning on traveling, which we're not thrilled about, and want to know that they're negative before they meet with family for Thanksgiving?” Ansher said. “I guess we'll have to see if the trend continues.”
Matt Smolksky, Assistant Chief — Fire Marshal of the Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue, said the county had also contributed the increase in testing to an increase in media attention to the national COVID case surge following the election.
“Most people who are testing are not showing any symptoms,” Smolksky said.
The Virginia Department of Health data shows, over the last two weeks, Prince William County has had the highest number of COVID cases, per 100,000 people, in Northern Virginia.
State data also shows Hispanics make up more than half of the COVID cases reported in Prince William, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
This summer the Centers for Disease Control and Protection interviewed people in Manassas and Manassas Park to get a better understanding as to why the area’s Hispanic population has been so impacted by the coronavirus.
The agency shared the results with Jose Guallar of the Hispanic Organization for Leadership & Action in Prince William County.
He said it is important to remember the Hispanic community is multicultural and not a monolith. However, Guallar added the survey revealed many local Hispanic households are multigenerational making it easier to pass the virus to more people.
“We are talking about the families who are living three generations in the same household,” he said.
Guallar added many locals Hispanics are also working low-wage front line jobs where it is not easy to socially distance.
“Don’t forget that they are working on the first line,” he said. “And it can be very difficult [for them] to work from home.”