Lines for coronavirus tests sometimes stretch miles.....

[PopsnTuff]

Surging cases of the coronavirus across the Sun Belt are sparking unprecedented demand for testing, with lines stretching miles in the summer heat, supplies running out and medical workers left exhausted.

Supply-chain issues that hampered testing from the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic have improved but not ended, even as many states opened sites that require no appointment or referral.

Reagents — substances used to carry out tests — and pipettes remain in short supply in many places, and the machines that run the tests are expensive and time-consuming to build.

There are also limits on collection sites, exacerbated by rising summer temperatures. Staff at testing sites, standing outside in full-body protective gear, must rotate more often to avoid heat-related health problems. Some testing sites have been temporarily or permanently closed because of extreme heat.

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/lines-for-coronavirus-tests-sometimes-stretch-miles/

 

[squatting dog]

From the CDC website, and I quote...

• "A positive test result shows you may have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there is a chance a positive result means that you have antibodies from an infection with a virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses), such as the one that causes the common cold.
• Having antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 may provide protection from getting infected with the virus again. If it does, we do not know how much protection the antibodies may provide or how long this protection may last."

Now, if I read that right, a positive test result can happen because you've had a cold. Maybe that's why there's a sudden spike in positive tests, yet the mortality rate is not climbing like the "ahem" computer models have shown.

 

[win231]

From the CDC website, and I quote...

• "A positive test result shows you may have antibodies from an infection with the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there is a chance a positive result means that you have antibodies from an infection with a virus from the same family of viruses (called coronaviruses), such as the one that causes the common cold.
• Having antibodies to the virus that causes COVID-19 may provide protection from getting infected with the virus again. If it does, we do not know how much protection the antibodies may provide or how long this protection may last."

Now, if I read that right, a positive test result can happen because you've had a cold. Maybe that's why there's a sudden spike in positive tests, yet the mortality rate is not climbing like the "ahem" computer models have shown.

You pretty much nailed it. That's where all these "Spiking Numbers" come from. And it's an unreliable test, at best. But fear sells.